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Assad's Syrian Arab Army recaptures all territories lost in northwest Syria

Profile picture The Damascus forces of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) have managed to retake all of the territories they lost to the jihadi...

Assad's #SyrianArabArmy Recaptures All  #Territories Lost In #NorthwestSyria

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Syraq SITREP 39: Decisive Ghouta and Afrin Battles, Mattis Warning a Greenlight for Jihadi Chemical False Flag?

Turkey's Erdogan Slams U.S and NATO as Faithless in Fight Against 'YPG Terrorists'

The steady slide of Turkey from the U.S./NATO camp into a more Eurasian friendly or at least frenemy posture toward Russia and Iran is an ongoing story. But one punctuated by the neo-Ottoman Sultan Erdogan's words at a public rally in the city of Mersin, "Hey NATO, where are you?” Erdogan vowed to "clear Manbij, Ayn al-Arab, Tal Abyad, Resulayn and Kamisli of terrorists" and also claimed in his speech that the Turks would bring humanitarian aid and infrastructure repairs to the rebel held towns they 'liberated' from the YPG.

With Turkish troops entering Afrin and/or cutting it off from Syrian government supply lines soon, it remains to be seen how far the Turkish spearheaded and American abetted partition of northern Syria will go, but Turkey's media is full of optimistic accounts (from Ankara's point of view) regarding American concessions in order to keep Incirlik Air Base open to Washington. At the same time, experienced Mideast correspondent Elijah J. Magnier says the Americans are drawing down forces at Incirlik, possibly relocating some units to their increasingly permanent-looking bases inside Syrian territory, which are illegal under international law.

Writing at his Moon of Alabama blog, blogger 'b' concurs with Elijah J. Magnier's estimation that the Kurds are coming out as major losers in Syria, once again abandoned by their American partners and finding the Russians unwilling to directly clash with the Turks on their behalf:

This is the direct result of gigantic miscalculations by the YPG Kurds who controlled the Afrin area. They had a clear offer from the Syrian and Russian government: Hand over the administration to the legitimate Syrian government and the Syrian army will come and defend your land.

They rejected that offer multiple times. They thought they could withstand an attack by a numerical superior enemy which has abundant air and artillery support. Hizbullah can do that but the Kurds are not Hizbullah. Their defense network was mediocre with bunkers easily visible (vid) from the air and ground and without any water supply and other necessities. These medieval fortifications were built over years but fell within hours. There was apparently no second line to fall back to. The tactical military abilities the YPG Kurds have shown were rather amateurish. The announced reinforcements from east Syria made no difference. Now their 'canton' is lost to a very hostile forces. Can it ever be regained?

Meanwhile the U.S. is on the verge of giving away the Kurdish held Manbij to the Turks.

In 2016 the Kurdish PKK attempted to hold onto 'autonomous' city-centers in eastern Turkey. The Turkish army simply shelled those areas into rubble. There insurrection ended with a catastrophic loss of Kurdish fighters. The Kurdish attempts to expand their lands in Iraq by stealing the oil fields of Kirkuk were thoroughly defeated. Now Afrin is lost too.

Race Against the Chemical False Flag Clock: Can SAA Backed by Russian Airpower Win in East Ghouta Before a Pretext is Created for Another American Strike on Syrian Government Forces? According to Southfront news and analysis, half the East Ghouta pocket held by jihadists since 2012 had been liberated by the SAA as of March 9. The SAA offensive has reportedly split the pocket into at least three parts, backed by powerful Russian air strikes Washington has condemned as indiscriminately targeting civilians. Russian President Vladimir Putin's acerbic response to such claims of Russian indifference to civilian deaths has been to ask the Americans to go dig bodies out of the rubble of Raqqa, the one time capitol of the pseudo-caliphate ISIS fiercely defended before much of it was reduced to rubble by American bombs and artillery. The Russian Foreign and Defense Ministries have also pointed out where the jihadists have opened fire using snipers and machine guns at civilians trying to flee to government held checkpoints.

Predictably, with the last jihadist pocket in Syria not under partial Turkish occupation about to be liberated, the Americans are ramping up the rhetoric about chemical weapons use by the Assad government. Why Assad would need to use chemical arms when the jihadis are being carved up with conventional bombs, artillery and tank fire is never explained, but advocates of the theory invariably claim the SAA is a weak force that uses chemicals to terrify civilian relatives of rebel militants into submission. Meanwhile, members of Jaysh al Islam, a Saudi backed militant gang, are being permitted to evacuate with family members on the green buses to Idlib. The will of the jihadis to die in the rubble of Ghouta has apparently been exceeded by their desire to live another day on the Turkish payroll, like their 'Free Syrian Army' brothers to the north exacting vengeance on the Kurds, who lack Russian fighter jets or Damascus' SAMs to defend them from Turkish bombing.

With the Sunni Gulf states (principally Saudi) funded jihadis on the ropes in Ghouta, it's not altogether surprising that Washington is ramping up the 'use chemical weapons Assad and we'll bomb you before any investigation can be done' rhetoric. But 'Mad Dog' Mattis threats appear to be up against pincers of hard and 'soft' power designed to squeeze out the Ghouta pocket before it can be used to stage another 2013 East Ghouta or Khan Sheikhoun-style CW false flag operation. 

The Assad government has activated loyalists or just locals tired of the fighting in areas where the militants grip is weaker, demonstrating for the jihadists in their neighborhoods to lay down arms. These are likely the exact neighborhoods where Damascus and Moscow's intelligence believes the jihadis would attempt to release chemical bombs on the ground, at a time when Syrian Air Force jets are overhead. If the Syrians and Russians can successfully use such tactics as well as infiltrators and spies on the ground to thwart chemical false flag attacks, then the model could be replicated in Idlib -- provided the Turkish government is amenable to 'trading' the last jihadi pocket for the territory it's seizing around Afrin. That of course, is where the rubber will meet the road, once the last jihadists lay down their arms and board the green buses departing the rubble in Ghouta.

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Syraq SITREP 30: Turkey Moves Against U.S. Occupation Kurdish Statelet Army in Syria

Putin: Drone Swarm Attack Launched Against Khmeimim from Turkish Deconfliction (Occupation) Zone in Syria Was Intended to Drive a Wedge Between Moscow and Ankara

Before we forecast what's about to happen in Syria, it's important to note what President Vladimir Putin said in his remarks hosted by the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid to Russian journalists and editors several days ago. The Russian leader referred to 'our Turkish partners' and said provocateurs had infiltrated territory controlled by the Turks under the deconfliction zones agreements reached in Astana, Kazakhstan. Putin declared that 'we know who they are' and how much the drone unleashing terrorists had been paid and by whom. He clearly meant that it was not the Turks, but another government seeking to stoke tensions between Moscow and Ankara that assisted with the drone attack on Russia's main air base in Syria. Putin said "someone is trying to destroy" Moscow's improving ties with not only the Turks, but Russian facilitating of warming Turkish relations with the Iranians. That means Putin is all but pointing the finger at the US and Israel.

The Russian Ministry of Defense subsequently released their own drone video of the terrorist drone swarm launching team being incinerated in an Idlib region village by a long range, laser guided artillery shell fired from a howitzer. 

The RU MoD also released more detailed data undermining the Pentagon claim that any group of jihadists could have assembled the GPS guided far beyond visual range mortar round dropping drones without state sponsorship. This was in support of their commander and chief's words that the devices were only 'disguised' as home made/improvised and in fact, showed a remarkable degree of 'high technology components'. That would according to the Ru MoD report include GPS coordinate-based flying that would enable the drones more resistant to Russian electronic warfare jamming that would interfere with the satellite guidance signal near the base (six of the craft were nonetheless forced down via Russian EW). The RuMoD also hinted that the pentaerythrite tetranitrate explosive packed inside one of the recovered enemy drones was manufactured in Ukraine.

The Jihadist Idlib Counteroffensive: Turkey Backing Terrorists Again or Exposing Them to Russian Air Strikes/SAA Artillery?

Over the weekend of January 12-14 the designated Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) joined with the ethnic Uighur and former Soviet Union (FSU -- including Uzbeks) origin terrorists of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in a counteroffensive against the SAA. The offensive also includes the boy beheaders of the Nouradin al Zinki brigade, a terrorist group allied with Al-Qaeda that received American-made TOW missiles from Saudi Arabia as part of the (treasonous al)CIA(eda under previous Agency director Riyadh Ibn Saud John Brennan) program to arm 'moderate Syrian opposition'. 

The aim of the HTS attack is to stop Syrian government forces from securing the Abu Duhur air base and linking up with friendly forces to the north in Aleppo province. The facility was the site of a massacre by the terrorists of 56 captured SAA soldiers in September 2015. For the Syrian Army's elite Tiger Forces, retaking the base while inflicting heavy casualties on the jihadists would be fitting payback. However, the SAA advance was rebuffed over the weekend as its lead elements were within sight of the base. The Russian Air Force responded with stepped air strikes pummeling villages seized by the jihadis after the SAA retreated. The RuAF has also been inflicting heavy strikes on the jihadis left in north Hama.

The significance of this battle is twofold. While the so-called 'moderate rebel' supporters including #JihadiJulian Roepcke of Bild and others reveal their true colors in supporting an attack spearheaded by non-Syrian international terrorists, China as a backer of Russia's operations in Syria would like to see more of the Uighur jihadist wiped out before they can return to East Turkistan. For the SAA, crushing the jihadi counteroffensive would allow it to trap hundreds if not thousands of adversaries while splitting the enemy's Idlib stronghold in two.

For the backers of the so-called 'moderate rebels' who in reality have been supporting HTS and its al-Qaeda lite ally Ahrar al Sham all along like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, this is where they throw everything but the kitchen sink at the SAA to deter Assad from contemplating an even more costly assault against Idlib city. Nonetheless, given that so many jihadists including from the besieged East Ghouta pocket have been bused to Idlib, it isn't clear that Assad much less his allies in Tehran and Moscow are quite ready for that step. What is clear is that Western media coverage of the Syrian government offensive is overwhelmingly negative, blaming the SAA for more refugees fleeing into Turkey, while downplaying the fact that the area is controlled by hardline Islamists allied with Al-Qaeda. Interestingly though, the special U.S. envoy in the anti-ISIS coalition Brett McGurk has referred to Idlib as the largest concentration of Al-Qaeda gathered in one area since 9/11. While Washington's GCC funded analysts imagine that Turkey has been providing major support for the recent jihadi counterattack, it's possible the Turks are playing a double game to Moscow's benefit. While the terrorists have been using more of their anti-tank missile stocks for great Twitter propaganda of their missile kills, they've also been getting pounded by the Russian Air Force and taking heavy losses from SAA artillery guided by Russian drones. The temporary and soon to be reversed jihadist gains near Abu Duhur have not slowed the SAA's rapid advance to the northeast, raising the risk that any jihadi salient could quickly be cut off and turned into a deadly cauldron of air and artillery strikes. And certainly Ankara does not want to antagonize Beijing by allowing the Uighur to seek refuge on its soil if many of their men can be fed into an Idlib meat-grinder instead.

According to retired Army Col. and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) analyst Pat Lang, another problem the jihadis may soon have is attacks from Kurdish forces, who are just about done mopping up ISIS remnants in the Euphrates Valley (though small ISIS units continue to 'pop up' here and there in both SAA and YPG controlled territory):

"R+6 are carving up the Greater Idlib Pocket like a Thanksgiving turkey. I see that a spokesman for the Kurdish SDF/YPG says that Kurdish forces will enter Idlib to participate in the destruction of HTS and friends. It seems clear to me that the Kurds will fight on the government side if they enter the fight in Idlib. This must really be a disppointment to CENTCOM. "  -- http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2018/01/httpssouthfrontorgmap-update-current-results-of-syrian-armys-advance-in-eastern-idlib-northern-hama-and-southern-aleppo.html

The U.S. Announces Its Intent to Stay in Eastern Syria (As an Illegal Occupier Under International Law) to 'Support Local Forces' and Allegedly Check Iranian Ambitions In testimony that was barely covered by mainstream media, preoccupied as they've been with President Trump's alleged scatalogical remarks about various African nations and Haiti, a senior State Department official told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 11 that the U.S. intends to keep its forces in eastern Syria on an indefinite basis. Confirming what Secretary of Defense James Mattis had already said, that American troops will remain inside the country where no one internationally recognized government invited them, Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield stated that countering Iran's 'malign influence' was part of the reason for the continuing occupation.

Russia has responded by denouncing the U.S. presence around the Al-Tanf area as illegitimate and a location where Moscow's Defense Ministry says 'former' ISIS terrorists are being re-trained as fighters in U.S. backed Arab militias under the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) label. Adding to that criticism, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the U.S. of deliberately provoking Turkey via the announcement of a 30,000-strong, American troops advised Kurdish force and undermining Syria's territorial integrity.

The Turks, who consider the YPG to be a front for the PKK militants that attack their troops on Turkish soil, have declared the new U.S.-led Kurdish force to be unacceptable. New videos posted on Twitter over the weekend appear to show more Turkish Army armor moving to the Syrian border. It appears Erdogan's vow last week not to let the YPG control Afrin and to start an operation against the U.S.-supported Kurdish forces in the northern Syrian town is more than an empty threat.

"ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced Turkey’s military operation into northern Syria can start any moment in a bid to halt the United States’ plans to let the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) form a new force of 30,000 troops in the region, calling the group an “army of terror,” Turkey's Hurriyet reported. “We have finished our preparations. The operation can start any time,” Erdoğan said in Ankara today. The regions in question are Afrin and Manbij regions Syria's northern Aleppo province. Afrin and Manbij are currently controlled by the YPG. Erdoğan denounced the US cooperation with the YPG who are a branch of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party that not only Turkey, but also Washington recognizes as a terrorist organization, demonstrating the inconsistencies in US Foreign Policy."  -- http://www.fort-russ.com/2018/01/breaking-erdogan-says-turkish-military.html

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Syraq SITREP 29: Ru MoD Says Drone Swarm Attack on Kheimmim Was State Sponsored, Asks Why US Navy Surveillance Plane Loitered Off the Syrian Coast During Attacks

Several Western analysts were quick to suggest the Kheimmim incident heralded a new era of warfare, in which insurgents could humble modern militaries through ingenious use of radio controlled mini-planes as bomber swarms. The original reporting of the Kommersant newspaper claiming the destruction of multiple Russian planes on the ground December 31, however, could never be confirmed. As The Saker and his editor Scott suspect, the exaggerated toll on the Russian Air Force likely was Western intelligence boosted 'fake news'.

Russian television showed footage of the only confirmed damaged aircraft, a SU24 bomber with the (mortar round damaged) tail number 29, allegedly repaired and within days back in action. The Russians say that their powerful electronic jamming complexes around the Kheimmim and their naval installation at Tartus on the Mediterranean were able to take down half of the 13 drones launched at them, while SA-22 Pantsir radar/infrared guided anti-aircraft guns shot down the rest. It's unclear if the follow on drone 'swarming' attack which took place on Russian Orthodox Christmas eve inflicted any casualties or damage. The widely publicized drone attacks haven't slowed the Russian-backed Syrian Arab Army (SAA) from attacking the last remaining large jihadist enclave in northern Syria's Idlib province.

More interesting than the details the Russian Defense Ministry released regarding the drones advanced for 'DIY' characteristics, including their GPS programmed mortar round bombing run flight paths, was one particular claim. According to the RuMoD, a U.S. Navy Poseidon surveillance jet was loitering in international air space off the Syrian coast when the night time drone assault occurred. Like the Russian MoD's claim in a briefing delivered to journalists days after the MH17 shoot down, in which the Ministry said the Americans just happened to have an orbiting spy satellite overhead in the minutes following the crash (whose supposed smoking gun imagery of THE Russian BUK that shot down the airliner CIA/National Reconnaissance Office refuse to declassify to this day)...the insinuation is American fore-knowledge and therefore complicity (at least at higher levels, not necessarily of lower ranking US Navy personnel on board the aircraft). 

While scoffing at a Pentagon spokesman's claim that the sophistication of the thirteen drones sent in waves at Kheimmim could have been acquired in some random back alley jihadi drone bazaar, the Russian MoD nonetheless declined to name the U.S. or  Israel as the culprits. As the Sputnik News Agency reported, including this RuMoD tweet:

"After preventing the attack, the Russian military analyzed the design of and ammunition inside the seized UAVs, saying that such drones could have been supplied to the militants only by a country that is capable of "providing satellite navigation and remote control for the dropping of explosive devices." Later in the day, the Pentagon issued a statement saying that such drones could be bought on "the open market." ​Commenting on the Pentagon's statement, the Russian military expressed its concern over the remark that the technologies for attacking Russian military facilities are "easily accessible on the open market." "What are those technologies that are being talked about?" the ministry asked. A spokesperson also called for the Pentagon to reveal where this market is "located and what special service is selling space reconnaissance data" to militants."  -- https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201801091060620442-us-spy-aircraft-russian-bases-syria/

After the initial public exchange of views between the Russians and Americans regarding the off the shelf accessibility or lack thereof for such GPS guided drone bombing tech, Moscow directed its complaint toward Ankara. Specifically, declaring that the drones were launched from territory controlled by so-called moderate rebel groups that welcomed Turkey's intervention in northern Syria. Such a complaint of course, should not be misunderstood as stating the Turkish military was behind the attacks, but rather that someone desiring to ratchet up Turkish-Russian tensions might have acted from areas nominally monitored by the Turks:

"According to a report published Wednesday by a newspaper of the Russian Defense Ministry, the area is controlled by “moderate opposition” backed by the Turkish government. The ministry said it sent a formal complaint about the incident to the head of the Turkish General Staff, Gen. Hulusi Akar, and the national intelligence chief, Hakan Fidan. The letters “stress the requirement that Ankara deliver on its promises to enforce the ceasefire on the armed forces under its control and to establish observation posts in the Idlib de-escalation zone to prevent similar drone attacks on any targets,” the report said."  -- https://www.rt.com/news/415454-drone-attack-syria-turkey/

The Art of Plausibly Deniable Escalation from Syria to Yemen: Houthis Shoot Down a Saudi Tornado Jet and Film Selves Almost Taking Down a RSAF F-15

Nineteen hundred miles southeast of Latakia, in the skies over war-torn Yemen, a hunter was becoming the hunted. The previously Saleh-loyalist Yemeni Army, who hid the impoverished country's arsenal of old Soviet designed and Russian shipped surface to air missiles after the 2015 Saudi invasion, and their Ansarullah (better known as Houthis) allies had been waiting for this moment.

A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 pilot, trained by the Americans to view himself and his aircraft as basically invincible, unaccustomed to facing any serious SAM threat well above altitudes at which man portable systems operate, began furiously dropping chaff and flares to evade the missile he knew was coming. Whether the pilot's headsets actually warned of a radar lock or, if the Yemenis deployed an IR only seeker that could take over upon launch after an initial (and anti-radiation missile evading) brief lock is established remains unknown. What we do know is that one Royal Saudi Air Force Panavia Tornado, a British made fighter of 1980s design likely 1990s vintage, went down this past week. Riyadh claimed a technical glitch rather than enemy fire was the culprit. The Houthis' F-15 footage appears authentic, even if the particular IR scanner displayed in their video is a red herring or wasn't used at all and edited into the footage. The video was widely circulated on YouTube after being aired on Yemen's pro-Houthi Al Masirah TV:

Aided by Russian Airpower, SAA Slices Through Demoralized Jihadist Lines, 'Moderate Rebel' Advocates like (UAE Funded) Mideast Institute's Charles Lister Urge Turkish Action -- But So Far Ankara's Bark is Worse Than Its Defanged Bite

The Turkish Army has maintained an illegal under international law presence in northern Syria since it intervened in August 2016 to stop the establishment of an American sponsored, independent Kurdish state. Since then Turkey has pivoted away from its NATO Israeli-Saudi allies and drawn closer to Russia and Iran. But Ankara in the last week has accused the Syrian Army of targeting 'moderate' rebel groups, including those sponsored by Turkey as part of its 'Euphrates Shield' operation, under the guise of hitting the Al-Qaeda affiliate Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Turkey reportedly summoned their ambassadors to Ankara to accuse the Russians and Iranians of violating the de-confliction agreement the three governments reached regarding northern Syria. Demonstrating a desire to be viewed as an independent balancer between the two sides of Cold War 2, the Turks also summoned the American ambassador to complain about U.S. military and arms support for Syrian Kurds:

""Iran and Russia need to carry out their responsibilities. If you are guarantors, which you are, stop the regime," Cavusoglu told the state-run Anadolu news agency in an interview broadcast on Turkish television channels. Cavusoglu's ministry summoned the Iranian and Russian ambassadors on Tuesday to complain about violations of the Idlib de-escalation zone, and he said President Tayyip Erdogan might call Russia's Vladimir Putin on the issue. Turkey, which has been fiercely opposed to Assad, has recently been working with his allies Russia and Iran for a political resolution to the conflict. But Cavusoglu said the Idlib offensive was endangering those efforts."  -- https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkey-says-russia-iran-must-stop-syrian-government-070705813.html

The Turks presence remains illegal under international law, and when pressed the Russians and Iranians are likely to remind their Turkish 'partners' of this fact. There is no evidence the Turkish Army as of January 10 is seriously digging in or moving armor and artillery up and across the border for direct clashes with the Syrian Arab Army or its Russian and Iranian advisers. At any rate, pro-Damascus sources say the immediate objective of the Syrian Army advance is not the densely populated and fiercely jihadi defended city of Idlib, but the countryside necessary to fully secure the Khanasser to Aleppo highway. This operation has included the expulsion of HTS terrorists from their remaining areas of control in northeast Hama. After securing the Abu Duhur military airport -- which has been controlled by jihadists since early 2015 -- the SAA could link up with forces south of Aleppo, creating a large pocket surrounding a few thousand jihadis. Inside Idlib, the jihadists are killing each other and scores of civilians unlucky enough to be nearby when the blast happens with VBIEDs. Not surprisingly, the Turkish Army has avoided entering the city, even as 'liberators'.

On other fronts, in the eastern Damascus exurbs, the Gulf states funded Ahrar al Sham terrorist group failed to maintain a siege of an armored vehicles base at Harasta, though the SAA's 4th Armored Division suffered several killed and scores of wounded in its fierce defense. Washington and Moscow continue to exchange accusations of being soft on Islamic State remnants, with the Russians alleging the Americans are training 'former' ISIS members at the (illegal squatting under international law) al-Tanf military camp along the Jordanian border while the Coalition spokesman claimed Daesh members move freely through SAA lines.

As Elijah J Magnier points out above, the U.S. encampment at al-Tanf remains useless for the cause many neocons in Washington and at its GCC funded think tanks have advocated: American special forces interdicting through proxies the overland route from Iran through Shi'a friendly Iraq to Lebanon. As for Damascus allegedly taking it easy on ISIS leftovers, the eastern deserts of Syria are large and sparsely populated, making it difficult for the SAA or Russian airpower to prevent small groups of terrorists or mini-convoys from moving around.

Meanwhile, even the anti-Assad Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) which is basically one Syrian exile in Coventry is reporting former ISIS members are joining the Arab wing of the Kurdish-led and American advised Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The question of whether ISIS members blending into the civilian population or will go off script and engage in 'green on blue' suicide attacks against American special forces units they can infiltrate as SDF recruits is one that ought to concern U.S. commanders, and by extension the Pentagon and Trump White House. Much more so than the farcical demands of a few 'Free Syrian Army' unicorns who are threatening to fight the Kurdish SDF. Perhaps if Coalition leaders are so concerned about governments giving safe passage to ISIS fighters, they should check with U.S. allies first about their own returning ISIS member citizens, before claiming the Syrian government and Russians aren't doing enough to combat the terrorist army's remnants.

Israeli Air Strikes and the GRU Inspecting the Electronics of the 'Syria Rebel' Drones Bringing this SITREP back to the question from the start, which state sponsor was behind the drone wave attacks on Kheimmim and Tartus, on January 9 Israeli air and ground-launched missiles struck a reported weapons depot in a town near Damascus. The Syrian military said it fired an anti-aircraft missile that brought down an IAF jet, but no wreckage was filmed on Syrian territory. The Syrians also said they intercepted an incoming Israeli missile.

"At 2:40 a.m. local time (0040 GMT), Israeli warplanes fired several missiles from inside the Lebanese airspace on the Syrian area of Qutaifa in the countryside of the capital Damascus, said the statement, adding that the Syrian air defenses responded by hitting one of the Israeli warplanes. Israel has pledged to prevent Syrian territory being used for Iran to set up bases or transfer high-quality weaponry to Lebanon's Hezbollah group, which has been helping Damascus beat back a six-year-old rebellion."  -- http://expressnewsline.com/2018/01/09/syrian-military-says-repel-israeli-missile-attacks-near.html

As Elijah J. Magnier noted in a year end article, Russia had angered the Netanyahu government by aiding the SAA's advances along the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, while adhering to Moscow's end of the bargain with Israel that excludes Iranian advisers from a buffer zone near Israeli Defense Forces. Whether the drone attacks were a message to Russia in retaliation for that support, we know two things are certain. 

One, the Mossad and Israeli deep state have often proven more indifferent to blowback than Israel's politicians, who still have to consider the possibility, however remote, that assassinated Hezbollah chiefs or Iranian generals relatives could try to target them personally for revenge. The second thing we know is that, notwithstanding its public warnings to Turkey to prevent drone launches from Idlib region, Moscow's technicians are closely examining the electronics of the drones and their GPS programming. GRU will be looking for traces that can be matched with American or Israeli designs, and certainly programs beyond the capabilities of Idlib jihadis.

Blowback Risks and Hezbollah Retaliation Via Its Own 'Drone Swarms' Against Israel

If the Israelis had anything to do with the Kheimmim drone swarm, messages can be conveyed through back channels, for example in the Caucuses, regarding more advanced mini-drone tech proliferating into Hezbollah hands. In particular, during clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenian backed troops in Ngorno Karabakh, the Azeris used a suicide drone of Israeli design to successfully attack several Karabakh defenders. Armenia of course shares a border and has very good relations with Iran. It would be quite easy for an SVR agent under diplomatic cover to convey to his Israeli Mossad counterpart, likewise under diplomatic cover, that Moscow knows Iran has successfully reverse engineered the switchblade suicide drone-bomb design and given the tech to Hezbollah. Furthermore, the Russians can tell the Israelis that if Idlib jihadis can send swarms of mortar bombing drones at Kheimmim, then it's genuinely concerned Hezbollah could do likewise against IDF bases in northern Israel. The implication being if Russian bases in Syria continue to be attacked in this way, than Moscow will not be responsible for what their more hot headed Hezbollah allies decide to do in revenge for Israeli air strikes.

With 'accidents' like an Iranian tanker colliding with a Chinese freighter then exploding, and overt sabotage resulting in blown up Persian oil pipelines for which MEK-linked terrorists take credit, as well as Houthis and Syrian 'rebels' suddenly showing remarkable technological prowess, it's clear the covert war is heating up. The risk of drone swarming attacks with barely credible deniability is that they can be turned on targets of opportunity in the other direction. But more broadly, the pattern of covert provocations appears designed to keep the opposing sides who might be willing to compromise paranoid. Per RogueMoney's Bankster Slayer and W the Intelligence Insider, this is consistent with a third party operating outside and above governments -- including their occasionally rogue intelligence agencies -- to exacerbate conflicts and set the stage for a very big war. Whether 'the cabal' will succeed in that objective remains to be seen, but a new era of tit for tat and covert war from the Middle East to Southeast Asia is clearly upon us.

[arabiana-intel-blog]

Victorious

[arabiana-intel-blog]

‎From the House of ''The Tiger'' Suheil al-Hassan: Poor in Money... Rich in Honor, Dignity & 🇸🇾 Nationalism