Syria

[ThePest179]

Hezbollah isn't cannon fodder. The SAA is cannon fodder. Hezbollah is, to put it simply, a highly competent light infantry force.

 

I meant in the context of the battle, Hezbollah was basically cannon fodder.

 

I think your post are really informative though, and I hope you keep it up.

[RandomGuy]

Yeah, well, not only ISIS still exist - they are on the offensive and are well on the way of slicing Syria in two.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-takes-control-of-strategically-important-syrian-town-near-homs-a6716741.html

I suppose they are trying to take a leaf out of the German Army's book and repeat Guderian's "Race to the sea" maneuver.

This has not been a good weak for the SAA. They retook a road in Aleppo as part of the battle that's still raging here. They say that this will leave Daesh forces there to wither on the vine, but that doesn't seem likely for many reasons. Especially considering how often these things change hands.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34720597

 

More importantly, the Islamist rebels took Morek in their counterattack. This is after the SAA launched offensives in that area and gained nothing but a bunch of tank husks, and after a rebel counterattack that only lasted a few days. This is the kind of loss that spells doom for an army's morale.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Syria_Protector/status/662020974422945794?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

 

The SAA state media is downplaying it. The rebels are saying that it was a great victory where they captured loads of loot and prisoners. Considering how the battle was going a few days ago, the rhetoric from both sides while it was still raging, and the strategic importance of that town... the rebels are likely closer to the truth here.

 

Meanwhile American-led airstrikes in Syria have resumed after a short break; a couple dozen strikes have been launched in the past few days. Not to be outdone, Iran has also been heavily involved in making sure Aleppo doesn't become Hama; five more IRGC officers were killed on Nov. 2 alone, including a colonel. Still, having them be involved in combat, along with their Afghan and Pakistani auxiliary brigades, is a hell of a lot better than leaving the incompetent SAA to fend for itself against the slightly more competent (and much more motivated) Daesh. The IRGC are competent light infantry with effective light air and armor support, unlike the SAA. They're a force multiplier wherever they're present.

 

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/security-forces-kill-58-isis-elements-dismantle-150-explosive-devices-north-ramadi/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwey3rDQrqc

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/anbar-police-announces-liberating-7th-kilometer-area-west-ramadi/

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/security-forces-raise-iraqi-flag-jiraishi-bridge-cut-isis-supplies-ramadi/

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/security-forces-cleanse-al-madaiq-kill-33-isis-elements-says-khalidiya-council/

 

The USA is also stepping up airstrikes near Ramadi, Iraq, where the Iraqi police and army are finally making some progress against Daesh. They have recaptured large portions of it, have (supposedly) killed hundreds of Daeshbags, and are well on their way to closing that pocket.

 

Note: if I throw out numbers for the Coalition airstrikes or Iranian casualties without explicitly mentioning a source, just assume I'm using one of two pages. defense.gov's "Operation Inherent Resolve" for the former, and Reddit's "Iranian casualties in Syria megathread" [a collection of Iran state news reports] for the latter.

 

[We should probably be dividing ISF kill claims by three... just to make sure]

[RandomGuy]

Coming back because I found some more interesting infographs.

 

Foreign fighters in Syria and IRAQ by country. Out of the nearly 30,000 foreigners who have run off to Iraq and Syria to join ISIL, the top contributors (not counting fighters who already returned home or died) are:

1. Tunisia: 5,000

2. Saudi Arabia: 2,500

3. Russia: 2,400

4. Jordan: 2,000

5. France: 1,800

 

Can't say I'm too surprised by these numbers. Tunisia's actually doing relatively fine, so their Islamist extremists probably use Iraq and Syria as an outlet ever since the Islamists lost the last round of elections. Saudi Arabia and Jordan are still hellholes, France still treats its Arab minority like shit, and there's an ongoing Islamist insurgency in Russia, and there has been one for nearly two decades.

 

Number of Daesh targets hit by the Coalition; updated.