Military situation in Syria. The Pentagon said it controls the “fate” of weapons for the Syrian opposition Russian submarines attacked ISIS positions in Syria with Caliber missiles

In Eastern Ghouta, the SAA and allied forces continue their offensive in the Khazram area.

After capturing a base north of the city, troops continued to push back Jayh al-Islam militants in Hazram and Nashabiya.

There is no truce here; the intensity of hostilities is quite high. The Syrians in Eastern Ghouta are sticking to their previous strategy of gradually cutting off pieces of the enclave, as a result of which the largest militant enclave in Damascus province is slowly but surely decreasing in size.

The militants, however, are not going to give up, nor are they going to negotiate anything with Assad. But this is the case - in the already liberated enclaves they also announced this, until reality forced them to leave for Idlib.

I am sure that this year the enclave in Eastern Ghouta will finally be liquidated.

In Wadi Barada, militants, despite the agreement on surrender, began to obstruct Syrian engineers to restore the water supply to Damascus, and also destroyed one bulldozer. Behind the latest escalation is Al-Nusra, which, although it is in the minority here, does not want to go to Idlib.

In this regard, the SAA again resumed its offensive north of the valley, occupying a number of hills. Along with the fighting, negotiations are underway with the militants in the valley so that they can influence Al-Nusra and move to Idlib together. Until the militants reach an agreement among themselves, they will be forced to a truce - today aviation and artillery were widely used there.

Along the way, the army occupied part of the territory where the militants left strongholds and checkpoints after the start of the truce, as well as those positions from which the militants retreated after air raids. As I previously indicated, the agony of the enclave will last a maximum of 1-2 weeks and will end with the traditional departure to Idlib.
Well, Al-Nusra once again showed its complete stubbornness, even in relations with its “colleagues”.

In Deir ez-Zor, the Caliphate continues to attack the enclave. The army as a whole holds its main positions, but over the past 3 months the enclave has lost some weight in size - the main losses are the hills to the southwest of the airbase and part of the city blocks.

The recent episode with the shelling of an air base from ATGMs with the loss of two L-39s reflects the current problems of the SAA in the enclave - the reinforcements and ammunition delivered are only enough to hold the defense, but all attempts to expand the enclave or return part of the previously lost positions in the Al-Bagiliya area or the hills to the southwest of the air base does not bring success.

The enclave itself, with external support, can exist for quite a long time, but not indefinitely, since the Caliphate is constantly making attempts to find troops somewhere and test the strength of the enclave. Now, of course, significant forces of the “blacks” are diverted to battles in the area of ​​Tiyas, Raqqa, Al-Bab, Tal Afar and Rutba, but this does not mean that attempts will not be made to free up additional forces for new attacks on Deir ez-Zor.

A solution to the Deir ez-Zor problem is possible only by returning Palmyra and the adjacent oil fields, followed by a release operation along the Palmyra-Deir ez-Zor highway (which was planned for the spring of 2017 before the loss of Palmyra), which is strategically quite risky. Overall, this enclave remains a major headache for Assad and the Russian coalition.

Yesterday the front came to life in the east of the Rastan cauldron. The militants, concentrating up to an infantry battalion with the support of armored vehicles, tried to advance in the direction of the Homs-Salamiya highway, which plays an important role in supplying the Aleppo group of the SAA.

The strategic meaning of the attack is identical to the Caliphate's raids on the Khanasser-Aleppo highway in 2016. Fierce fighting broke out southwest of Salamiu. The SAA is sending reinforcements through Homs and Hama in Salamiyah to stop militant activity.

At the same time, fighting intensified in the El-Latamin salient in northern Hama. The militants' resources even hinted at a strategic operation with a breakthrough to the Rastan pocket, but so far the fighting there has taken on a traditional positional character - the heavy losses of the parties in the autumn campaign have somewhat depleted their offensive capabilities.

It is also worth noting that in Homs, militants of the Caliphate blew up the Hayan plant, which was responsible for the supply of gas. As a result, between 1 and 1.5 million Syrians were left without heating.

The fighting near Al-Bab continues to be positional in nature and takes place to the west of the city outskirts and the city hospital. Turkish aircraft and artillery are constantly attacking militant positions and urban areas.

At the same time, attempts are being made to advance south of Kabaysin (the city to the east of al-Bab) in order to tighten the defense of the militants from the east, because now the configuration of the front is such that the militants can concentrate all their forces to repel an attack by the Turkish army from the West and, for good measure, the Turks more problems should be created for the militants so that they are forced to stretch their limited forces. But in general, the actions of the Turks are still rather sluggish, a full-fledged 2nd assault has not yet begun, now we still see the preparation stage, but I think we won’t have to wait long.

Things continue to go well for the Americans and Kurds. Advancing along the northern bank of the Euphrates, they advanced to the Tabqa Dam and occupied several villages north of the river. A little to the north, a kind of ledge has formed, which will be cleared in the coming days - the Caliphate does not have serious defensive positions there, so the command of the “blacks” most likely will not cling to it and will continue to withdraw troops to Raqqa, where they plan to organize the main resistance.

The difficult terrain in the Raqqa region favors long-term defense - a large number of villages, river tributaries, canals, military installations - all this creates a fairly effective basis for the defense of the capital of the Caliphate. But this is more of a problem for the spring 2017 campaign. For now, the task of the American contingent and SDF/YPG forces is to clear the forefield to the west and northwest of Raqqa.

Other

1. Positional battles are taking place in the Tiyas area. The parties have not seen any particular success. There is no talk of an attack on Palmyra yet.

2. South of Aleppo, the Syrian Air Force and SAA artillery are processing Al-Nusra positions, preparing the ground for an attack on the Seraqib-Aleppo highway. The battles here are of a positional nature. The main targets here are Rashidin, Khan-Tuman, Al-Qarassi, Al-Iis.

3. Terrorist attacks continue to occur throughout Syria - both in the territory controlled by Assad and in the territories controlled by militants and Kurds. The Caliphate is mainly responsible for the terrorist attacks. All this for years.

4. Public executions of persons suspected of connections with the “crusaders” and rival terrorist groups continue in Raqqa. The propaganda of the Caliphate promises that the enemies of the prophet will soon be defeated, but this does not look very convincing. Reminds me of Goebbels' tales in 1944.

5. A funny moment, in the propaganda film “Caravan of Light”, one of the suicide bombers (a disabled person without legs) said that he had long wanted to blow up someone with a suicide car, but in his native vilayat there was a long line for a suicide car. Then he went to Raqqa, but even there he was turned down, because there was a long line of people willing (there were many suicide bombers, but few cars and explosives), and he was crippled and there were more worthy suicide bombers. Then he went to Mosul, where he was finally given the desired suicide bomber and was able to blow up two Iraqi infantry fighting vehicles. Bureaucrats are everywhere.

In general, the parties are still waiting for negotiations in Astana on January 23, as well as subsequent negotiations between the Russian Federation and the United States, which will one way or another clarify many important points for understanding the further course of the winter-spring campaign of 2017. Of course, there are no prerequisites for a complete end to hostilities - for now we are only talking about changing the foreign policy situation around Syria and defining a list of hot fronts where hostilities will continue and where the preconditions for subsequent rounds of peace negotiations will be created by military means. The current negotiation stage is necessary to consolidate the new military-political reality that emerged after the defeat of the “greens” in the battle for Aleppo.

The parties meeting in Astana are close to concluding an agreement on four de-escalation zones. This was stated by the head of the Russian delegation, special representative of the Russian President for the Syrian settlement Alexander Lavrentyev.

“We are very close to an agreement to create all four zones,” he said. The main task of this meeting on Syria is to finalize and create four de-escalation zones. “I would like to say about the positive attitude of all the delegations that are present here in Astana - Iranian, Turkish and observers, primarily the Americans, as well as the UN delegation led by Staffan de Mistura.”

We are talking about three already existing de-escalation zones in Syria - north of the city of Homs, in the suburbs of Damascus - in the Eastern Ghouta region, on the border of Syria with Jordan - in the province of Daraa, and also about a fourth zone in the province of Idlib in northern Syria. Documents on work in these zones can be agreed upon by the parties as early as September 15. We are talking, first of all, about how exactly the forces controlling the de-escalation process will function.

As the head of the Russian delegation noted, all three observer countries will monitor the situation in the new de-escalation zone: Russia, Iran and Turkey.

Lavrentiev also emphasized that the negotiation process in Astana will continue after the creation of de-escalation zones. “We still have many problems and issues that need to be resolved in the field of Syrian settlement. Astana is a very useful platform for coordinating various positions on various aspects of the Syrian settlement, including on the issue of a political settlement and the creation of national reconciliation committees,” he said.

A new meeting in Astana could take place at the end of October, the head of the Russian delegation noted. It is possible that there will be new observers there. “It is possible that at the next meetings, which may take place at the end of October, we will see new observers,” Lavrentiev said. — The basis of the Astana process is the work of three guarantor countries: Russia, Turkey and Iran. Therefore, it will be possible to consider candidacies of other countries as observers, of course, among them are such players as China, the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, and Kazakhstan. We look very carefully at the criteria by which a particular country can work as an observer.”

Lavrentiev also said that in the coming months, groups supporting Daesh (the Arabic name for the Islamic State group banned in the Russian Federation) could be defeated in Syria.

“Over the past months, very positive progress has taken place; Syrian government forces have released the blockade of Deir Zz-Zor and are successfully developing an offensive against Daesh positions,” said the Russian diplomat. “And we hope that in the coming months the fight against these groups, which also support Daesh, will be, in general, completed and it will be possible to talk about the need to fight other groups that aim to overthrow the existing government in Syria. But we again hope that the opposition’s common sense will prevail and that it will take a position on finding a peaceful solution to existing problems and finding common ground with the government.”

Until now, only Russian military police units have ensured the “silence regime” along the perimeter of the three zones; the participation of all guarantor countries is expected in Idlib.

In addition, the adoption of a regulation on a Russian-Iranian-Turkish coordination center for all four territories is being agreed upon. However, it should be taken into account here that the southern de-escalation zone began to work on July 9 as a result of agreements between Russia, the United States and Jordan. “This zone will continue to intensively move forward in this format,” Lavrentyev explained.

At a press conference on September 14, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev did not rule out the possibility of sending a contingent of the country to ensure control in de-escalation zones. “But if the UN decides to send such a force, we as members of the UN can send our military there to participate,” the president said.

At the same time, it is premature to talk about transforming monitoring by guarantor countries into any kind of peacekeeping mission. “We are not talking about blue helmets yet, we are talking about observers from the three guarantor countries to ensure the normal functioning of the de-escalation zones, if such a need arises,” said the head of the Russian delegation. “For now, we believe that it is premature to give the observation international status.”

“This meeting in Astana is the final one for the creation of de-escalation zones, but the Astana process will continue, because we still have many problems and issues that need to be resolved in the field of Syrian settlement,” Alexander Lavrentyev emphasized.

With the help of Astana, a dialogue is already beginning on the ground between the government and the armed opposition through the mechanism of national reconciliation committees. Such issues, including political settlement, according to the Russian diplomat, “smoothly move on to the next meetings.”

The agenda also includes the creation of a working group on the exchange of detainees and the demining of historical heritage sites in Syria.

Russia and the United States are holding bilateral consultations as part of the negotiations on Syria in Astana, a source in the Russian delegation told TASS.

“There is a meeting between the Russian and US delegations,” the agency’s interlocutor said. “Earlier, Russian representatives had a conversation with the UN Secretary General’s special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura.”

Russia's special representative for the Syrian settlement, Alexander Lavrentyev, is participating in the negotiations in Astana, and Acting Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield is representing the United States.

Seven field commanders of illegal armed groups and more than 1 thousand militants under their control went over to the side of the Syrian troops, the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Warring Parties reported on Thursday.

“An agreement has been reached on the transfer of seven field commanders of illegal armed groups and more than 1 thousand militants under their control to the side of the Syrian government forces,” the report says.

Video. Upgraded Russian MiG29 fighter spotted in Syria for the first time

As part of the implementation of the Memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones in the Syrian Arab Republic, control groups continued to monitor compliance with the ceasefire.

The situation in the de-escalation zones is assessed as stable.

The Russian part of the representative office recorded 6 cases of shooting in the provinces: Aleppo - 4, Damascus - 1, Daraa - 1.

The Turkish part of the mission recorded 3 violations in the provinces: Latakia - 1, Damascus - 2.

During the day, the Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in the Syrian Arab Republic carried out one humanitarian action in the village of Deir-Baalba, Homs province, and distributed 4.3 tons of food to the local population.

In total, 1610 humanitarian actions were carried out, the total weight of delivered humanitarian cargo was 2158.1 tons.

One humanitarian action was carried out through the UN: food and medicine were delivered to the village of Tell Gehab in Daraa province, the total weight of the cargo was 132 tons.

Medical assistance was provided to 117 residents during the day.

In total, medical assistance was provided to 56,412 residents.

During the day, no agreements on joining the cessation of hostilities were signed. The number of settlements that joined the reconciliation process did not change - 2235.

The number of armed formations that have declared their commitment to accepting and fulfilling the conditions for the cessation of hostilities has not changed - 233.

The submarines “Veliky Novgorod” and “Kolpino” located in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea launched an attack from an underwater position with “Caliber” cruise missiles on important targets of the ISIS terrorist group in Syria. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

According to the military department, thanks to the massive attack, command posts, communication centers, as well as weapons and ammunition warehouses of militants in areas under their control southeast of the city of Deir ez-Zor were hit.

During the operation of the Russian Navy against IS targets, seven sea-based cruise missiles were fired. The range to targets ranged from 500 to 670 kilometers.

Objective control data confirmed the defeat of all planned targets, the Russian military department notes.

The US Department of Defense controls the use of weapons supplied to the Syrian opposition, Pentagon spokeswoman Michelle Baldanza said. “The Department of Defense works closely with the State Department, NATO allies and European partners on a range of issues of mutual security interest, including arms, ammunition and equipment sales. Based on the relevant standards, the Ministry of Defense inspects partner forces before issuing equipment and monitors the final use of the issued equipment,” RIA Novosti quotes Ms. Baldanza.

She noted that the Pentagon is conducting a program in Iraq and Syria to train and equip “verified Syrian opposition groups” to defeat the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia. According to her, to quickly and successfully achieve this goal, the US Department of Defense supplies local forces with “easy to operate and maintain” weapons.

"The U.S. Department of Defense is providing weapons support to the Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes small arms, ammunition, heavy machine guns, and weapons to combat specific threats such as car bombs," Michelle Baldanza said.

It was previously reported that the Pentagon has allocated more than $2 billion for the purchase of Soviet-style weapons and ammunition for Syrian opposition groups. Large-scale procurement began in September 2015 under the administration of President Barack Obama, and the program was carried out separately from the CIA program for training rebels fighting against government forces in Syria, which had already been curtailed at the initiative of Donald Trump.

According to Foreign Policy magazine, the US Department of Defense deliberately uses vague language in documents that does not make it clear that the weapons were sent specifically to Syria. Experts warn that such practices could undermine international efforts to combat illicit arms trafficking.

Saudi Arabia, which, along with other Middle Eastern countries, insisted on the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, now does not raise this topic in closed negotiations.

The publication notes the confidence of Arab political scientists that the Syrian leader will take a place in the transitional government. As Russian experts note, in the current situation, Riyadh is forced to change approaches under pressure from more important foreign policy problems.

“They understand that Bashar al-Assad is a reality that they will have to deal with. Naturally, this does not mean that they agree with this - the Syrian leader would be overthrown at the first opportunity, but the current balance of power forces the Saudis to change their rhetoric, the interlocutor explained,” the publication quotes the interlocutor as saying.

King Abdullah II of Jordan expressed “deep concern” about the situation developing in southern Syria. Speaking to the state news agency Petra, the Jordanian monarch said that the opening of the Hashemite Kingdom's border with Syria could only take place after "the necessary security conditions on the ground have materialized."

Abdullah II also touched upon the topic of creating de-escalation zones in the southern Syrian provinces of Quneitra, Suwayda and Daraa, on which tripartite agreements were reached in July between Russia, the United States and Jordan. According to the Jordanian monarch, the creation of such zones improved the security situation on the northern border of the Hashemite Kingdom, but did not remove the threat of terrorists infiltrating through it.

SDF fighters captured an American-born IS militant, CNN reports.

FSA militants announced the creation of a new group - the “Damascus Division”

Aleppo. The Turkish army sent numerous reinforcements towards the city of Afrin.

Idlib. Turkish forces can participate in monitoring the de-escalation zone in Idlib in the part controlled by the Syrian opposition, Russian and Iranian - in the zone of government forces. This decision can be consolidated based on the results of the negotiations on Syria taking place in Astana, a source in one of the delegations told RIA Novosti.

“The Turks will stand on the opposition side, and the Russians and Iranians on the government side,” the agency’s interlocutor said.

Another source close to the negotiations confirmed this information. “Turkish forces may be involved in monitoring in Idlib. This will be done only here,” he noted.

At the same time, a source in another delegation said that “the issue of Turkey’s involvement is one of the most difficult in these negotiations.”

The creation of the last, fourth zone in Idlib should be the main result of the sixth round of Astana negotiations on Syria. In the already existing three de-escalation zones, monitoring is carried out only by Russian military police forces.

Kurdish media reports that the Turkish army is moving weapons and armored vehicles to the border between the province and Turkey.

A source told the Khavar news agency that the Turkish Armed Forces delivered artillery, tanks and weapons to the region bordering Syria, and reported that the number of tanks and artillery totaled dozens.

The source noted that the Turkish army intends to occupy Idlib. The same source noted that Türkiye recalled close journalists with their families from Idlib.

Various groups have stated that they are no longer part of HTS in Idlib. These include Jaysh al-Ahrar, Malhama Tactical group and Jaish Ososuf al-Islam.

Hama. A large number of Russian military police were deployed in the north of the province last night, Al-Masdar reported.

According to a source in the Syrian army, Russian military police are deployed in the frontline cities of Khattab and Taybat Al-Imam near Idlib province.

ISIS claim that they killed more than 20 SAA soldiers on the outskirts of the village. Hamadah Omar in the eastern part of the province as a result of an unsuccessful assault on the village by government forces. The SAA also lost several armored vehicles.

The Syrian army is resuming a military operation to clear the province of IS militants. The “Shield of Kalamun” detachment took the village. Qulib al-Thor, located south of the city of Al-Maboujah.

Homs. The militants fired at the village. Akrad Ad-Dasnia, SANA reports.

The 18th Panzer Division and the 5th Legion of the SAA liberated the settlements: Umm Rajm, Mazraa Nizal, Shalilah, Al-Amoudiyah, Al -Hawyah), Rasm Al-Suwanneh and Al-Alaf.

Damascus. The commander of the Faylaq al-Rahman group, Abu Salim al-Nabki, was killed by the SAA in Jobar, several sources reported on social networks.

In the south of Damascus in the Yarmouk refugee camp, ISIS attacked the positions of the Jaysh Al-Islam group.

Hasaka. Kurdish militias attacked an Arab school in the city of Qamishli and expelled Arab teachers.

In the south of the province, IS fighters successfully attacked an SDF checkpoint located west of the city of Ruwishid.

Deir ez-Zor. The IS agency "Amak" reports that as a result of a strike by coalition aircraft on a refugee camp in the eastern part of the city of Deir ez-Zor, 120 people were killed, of which 100 were children.

The statement is accompanied by a video showing many wounded and killed children.

A convoy with food and medicine from the Syrian Red Crescent Society arrived in the city of Deir ez-Zor.

By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and President Bashar al-Assad, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Corps General Ali Abdullah Ayyub, visited army units in the city of Deir ez-Zor.

Ayyub inspected the SAA positions on the Al-Sarda mountain range and met with the defenders of the military airfield. He conveyed to the fighters that the president was proud of their steadfastness and heroism, thanks to which the city was released.

US coalition forces do not plan to enter Deir ez-Zor, US Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the Permanent Solutions task force, said.

The SAA cleared the Al-Baghiliyah area, Al-Jazeera University campus, weapons depots, air defense base 1082, Saiqah camp, radio broadcaster from militants and entered the city of Al-Murayi.

Video of battles in the area of ​​the air defense base.

Coalition aircraft near the city of Deir ez-Zor destroyed 4 tactical units, a combat position, two tactical vehicles and an IS fuel station.

The city of Abu Kamal is the headquarters of the Islamic State.

Raqqa. The official representative of the UN Secretary General Stephane Dujarric announced the deterioration of the situation of civilians remaining in Syrian Raqqa, RIA Novosti reports.

“The UN is concerned about the safety and security of the 15 thousand people, most of them women and children, who are still in the city of Raqqa. The humanitarian situation in the city is extremely deplorable. Most of those remaining in the city are reportedly facing deteriorating humanitarian and medical conditions,” he said.

Coalition aircraft near the city of Raqqa destroyed 29 tactical units, 21 combat positions, a vehicle bomb and a UAV; and also suppressed four IS tactical units.

Damascus Province:

The Failak al-Rahman and Tahrir al-Sham groups reached an agreement on a temporary truce in the settlement of Kafr Batna. In the Ain Tarma area there was a violent confrontation between Faylaq al-Rahman and government forces, who sought to advance under the cover of heavy artillery. The SAA conducted rocket attacks on Tahrir al-Sham positions in the Jobar area. The offensive with the participation of T-72 tanks failed. The opposition carried out mortar attacks on Al-Abbasin and Al-Zablatani areas in the province.

Aleppo Province:

Mortar attacks by militants led to the detonation of ammunition at a SAA warehouse located in the north of the province. There are clashes between the SAA and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the north. The fighting front shifted from the Hazvan settlement to the areas of Abla and Khzoran, Darat Izza and Tal Zhizhan.

Homs Province:

In the east, the joint operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the SAA against ISIS (*terrorist organization banned in Russia) continues. Under the cover of Russian aircraft, the Tin al-Muallaq and Al-Nabatiyeh areas were cleared. There was artillery shelling of militant positions in the area of ​​the Tallat Aid settlement. Fortifications in the area of ​​Al-Khamsin Hill and the vicinity of the settlements of Abu Kres and Mzen Al-Bakar suffered significant damage from the VKS fire.

Deir ez-Zor, 09/11/17 (c) Ammar Safarjalani

Deir ez-Zor Province:

The SAA, under the leadership of Russian advisers and with the support of the Russian Aerospace Forces, crossed the Euphrates, on the left bank of which the terrorists erected a powerful network of defensive fortifications. Positions are being strengthened in the bridgehead and moving deeper into the territory north of Deir ez-Zor. This area has a number of large oil fields.
Work continues to ensure the security of the perimeter of the liberated Deir ez-Zor military airport. A cargo plane landed here for the first time in three years. The SAA is trying to establish control over the Hawijat Saqr neighborhood in the administrative center of the province of Deir ez-Zor.

Idlib Province:

The commander of the Tahrir al-Sham coalition, Abu Yasser al-Shami, was shot dead by unknown assailants. At least 80 units of Turkish military equipment and 3,000 well-trained pro-Turkish “free army” fighters are concentrated on the border, ready for invasion. The Turkish Armed Forces are opposed by the forces of the Tahrir al-Sham coalition, controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra*.
The SAA is fighting in the Al-Tamana settlement in southern Idlib.

Raqqa Province:

In the city of Raqqa, fierce fighting continued between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and ISIS*, including in the central part of the village, in the vicinity of the An Naim junction and the areas of Ar Rashid, Al-Murur and Al-Haramiya.

The pro-American coalition air force carried out a series of strikes against suspected ISIS positions in residential areas of the city of Raqqa, including using white phosphorus shells.

Hama Province:

In the east, the “Akerbat Cauldron” is being cleared from ISIS* by joint forces of the SAA and the Russian Aerospace Forces. Control was established over the settlements of Abu Hanaya and Al-Maddamiya.

An ISIS* ammunition warehouse was discovered in the village of Abu Hanaya near Salamiya.
The SAA carried out more than 100 artillery attacks on militant positions in the Al-Lataminah area, located in the north of the province.

Hasakah Province:

The pro-American coalition air force carried out a series of strikes on the village of Ghariba Ash Sharkiye in Hasakah, providing air support to Kurdish forces developing an offensive on Deir ez-Zor.

The Iraqi Air Force carried out a strike on an ISIS convoy moving in the Al-Mtabizh area on the border of the Salah ad-Din and Diyala provinces, killing a high-ranking member of the terrorist organization. The local air force carried out an airstrike on ISIS locations in the Makhul mountains in the north of Salah ed-Din province, killing a field commander and three terrorists who were with him.

The Iraqi Supreme Court has approved a petition by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, in which he asked to suspend the referendum on the independence of Kurdistan.

By September 13, the distance between the SAA group operating on the southern bank of the Euphrates and the SDF/YPG group advancing south of Al-Shaddadi was reduced to a minimum.

When they come into contact with each other within 1-2 weeks, the remaining territory of the Caliphate to the west on both banks of the Euphrates will be cut off from the main territory, which is still controlled by the “blacks”. For them, this will be another strategic defeat, which demonstrates their inability to hold onto previously occupied territories on a long-term scale.

In recent days, the SAA has strengthened its positions in the Deir ez-Zor area, having achieved a tight connection of the previously dissected enclave, occupied part of the strongholds of the Caliphate, relying on which the militants carried out a direct blockade of the enclave, cleared the Palmyra-Sukhna-Deir ez-Zor highway and created the preconditions for the resumption of full operation of the airbase. The last two points are a prerequisite for ensuring the development of active offensive operations based on Deir ez-Zor.

The Kurds, in turn, moving from Al-Shaddadi reached the outskirts of Deir ez-Zor (in the area of ​​industrial development and the 113th military base), where they began battles with counterattacking units of the Caliphate, in which both sides suffered significant losses, although In general, the Kurds were able to hold key positions and the attacks of the “blacks” did not bring them any special achievements (the exchange in people and carts is more beneficial to the Kurds, who have a significant numerical advantage).

Given the configuration of the front, the militants are unlikely to be able to achieve anything more than some gain of time through these counterattacks, which can only count on achieving tactical surprise, in the absence of the means to mount full-fledged strike groups. Weakness of ISIS counterattacks ( structure is prohibited in the Russian Federation - ed.) was revealed already during their attempts to prevent the release of the enclave.

Now this is rather an annoying obstacle for the SAA and the Kurds, who are fighting in absentia to expand the zone of control in the Deir ez-Zor area, which should strengthen their positions for the next stage of the war, where the Kurdish issue will be resolved.

This raises the question of crossing the Euphrates, by parts of the SAA, in order to advance to the road running along the northern bank of the Euphrates, and put there a physical block for the Kurds to advance to the oil fields northeast of Deir ez-Zor (in the style of the American “block” at Tabqa), and also maintain access to the Iraqi border north of the river, which can have both operational and tactical significance associated with operations against Mayadin and Abu Kemal, and strategic significance related to Iran’s interests in building a Tehran-Beirut “bridge” .

A few days ago, sources in the SDF, citing the American command, stated that the United States would not allow the Syrians to cross the Euphrates, even to the point of using aircraft against Syrian troops. However, the footage of ferrying facilities and pontoons were quite eloquent. Now there are conflicting reports that the Syrians have allegedly already crossed to the other side of the Euphrates with the help of Russian sappers. But the photographs rather show some kind of preparatory work for building the bridge.

Perhaps a little later the situation in this matter will become clearer. The crossing section near the village of Jafra is advantageous in that, having crossed in this area, you can quickly reach the desired road southeast of the Kurdish positions, after which part of the territory north of the Euphrates is cut off.

It can also be assumed that, in the interests of speeding up the process, a helicopter landing (in the spirit of the operation at Al-Kdera) may be repeated behind the militants’ lines, with the aim of capturing one of the villages on the northern bank (for example, near Kshama or Tabia).

Regarding the liberation of the city from militants, this process will still take quite a significant amount of time, especially since part of the Syrian forces will be involved in operations against militants north and south of Deir ez-Zor.

Syrian test by combat

The Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper published the speeches of the participants in the round table “Experience in carrying out tasks by groupings of troops (forces) in the Syrian Arab Republic,” which was held as part of the International Military-Technical Forum “Army-2017.”

From the experience of fighting in urban conditions

Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District, Lieutenant General Alexander Romanchuk, spoke about the specifics of military operations in the city; army.

Noting that establishing control over urbanized areas is one of the key conditions for achieving success in modern wars, Lieutenant General Alexander Romanchuk listed the main features of conducting combat operations in the city.

These include, first of all, the absence of a clear line of combat contact and its extension vertically (from underground communications to the upper floors of buildings) and in depth. Secondly, there are difficulties in maneuvering forces and means, as well as in using armored vehicles due to a significant number of obstacles. Another feature is the advantage of the defending side in knowledge of the area.

The fourth feature is that the fighting takes place in residential areas. From a humanitarian point of view, this is the most important problematic issue. It is obvious that a significant number of civilians creates significant difficulties for the operations of the troops and requires the involvement of additional forces and resources to ensure their withdrawal from the combat zone, organize deployment, and carry out measures to identify militants among them. In addition, the presence of a civilian population in the city at least makes it difficult, and in some cases completely eliminates, the possibility of using heavy weapons, including artillery and aviation.

“The use of civilians as human shields was widely used by militants in Afghanistan and Syria,” the speaker stated. – Having driven people out onto the city streets, illegal armed groups create conditions in which the movement of equipment of assault units is difficult, government troops cannot fire, fearing large losses among local residents.

All this was confirmed by the events in Aleppo, where government forces also had to solve humanitarian problems. During the liberation of the eastern quarters of this provincial city, over 136 thousand people were withdrawn from the combat zone. Information support was provided, and measures were taken to identify militants among civilians.

Lieutenant General Alexander Romanchuk drew the attention of the round table participants to the dissimilarity of events during operations in Aleppo and Iraqi Mosul, which was liberated from ISIS by the forces of the American-led coalition. The leadership of the international coalition promised to carry out the operation as soon as possible and with minimal use of heavy weapons. But after the city was blocked, humanitarian corridors were not organized. The civilian population left the city spontaneously, as a result, people died not only at the hands of militants, but also during air and artillery strikes. The city was practically wiped off the face of the earth; according to some sources, about 40 thousand civilians died.

“When operating in urban environments, the main thing is to find ways to accomplish the task of taking control of a populated area with minimal use of military force,” the speaker continued. – In this regard, comprehensive actions of troops come to the fore. Therefore, organizing the operation will take much longer than under normal conditions.

At the same time, no non-military measures will give a positive result without relying on military force, said Lieutenant General Alexander Romanchuk. The enemy needs to prove that the opposing group of troops has all the necessary forces to take the city. First of all, the city should be blocked in order to block the routes for supplying the enemy with reserves, ammunition and other materiel. The blockade should not be passive. Short, “needled” offensive actions should be carried out along the entire line of contact.

“Let the task be to capture one building in each direction, but this will not allow the enemy to identify the direction of the main attacks and concentrate the main forces on them,” the speaker explained.

When determining a plan, it is extremely important to assess the situation inside the city - the economy, living conditions and mood of the population, food supplies, and the possibilities for their replenishment.

“All this is necessary in order to find those vulnerable spots or critical points, the impact of which will create conditions for the enemy to abandon the defense of the city,” Lieutenant General Romanchuk clarified and gave an example of how during the capture of the eastern regions of Aleppo, the militants’ defense was significantly weakened , when their coordination headquarters was destroyed.

A special feature during the preparation and during the conduct of hostilities for the liberation of Aleppo was the widespread use of 3D maps with the ability to detail settlements down to an individual house. This, according to the deputy commander of the Southern Military District, made it possible to most effectively determine combat missions for units, which in the city were assigned to clearly defined structures, blocks and regions.

– The experience of Aleppo has shown that the most effective in capturing the city is a combination of two methods: local actions of small forces along the entire line of contact between the parties and the offensive of reinforced assault troops in converging directions with the aim of cutting the city into separate parts, disrupting the stability of the defense and the subsequent destruction of scattered groups of militants in parts,” the speaker continued, emphasizing the need to pay special attention to the direct training of assault troops.

In this regard, the experience of the assault units of the Syrian Arab Army in preparing and conducting combat operations to liberate a complex of military schools in the southwestern suburbs of Aleppo is indicative.

“Even despite the lack of time, the assault units were not brought into battle until they completed the entire cycle of combat training, which ended with a tactical exercise on the subject of upcoming combat operations under the leadership of the unit commander,” the speaker noted. In addition, in preparation for action, Syrian units were fully provided with the necessary equipment, stocks of weapons and ammunition. Thus, the unit commander concentrated all the smoke supplies available in his units on the direction of attack.

Thirdly, as a result of reconnaissance of the area of ​​upcoming actions, the command chose the most advantageous direction for the attack - where the enemy was not expecting it.

“And the last thing is surprise and swiftness of action,” noted Lieutenant General Alexander Romanchuk. – Going on the attack after dark. Throwing a vehicle towards the front line of the enemy's defense. Attack the front line from three directions and capture a favorable position - an earthen rampart running along the southern border of the military schools complex.

“As a result of such training, the assault detachments managed to complete a task in two days that other units could not solve within a month,” the speaker stated.

It is necessary to prepare thoroughly for conducting combat operations in urban conditions, using all the space and features of urban development, and develop new forms and methods of conducting combat operations in megacities, summed up the Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District. Particular attention should be paid to determining the optimal organizational structure of units and tactical methods of combat operations.

Experience in using new weapons and military equipment

Chairman of the Military Scientific Committee of the Armed Forces - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Makushev, at a round table, reported on the results of testing new types of weapons, military and special equipment (VVST) in Syria. He noted that the testing of military equipment in combat conditions, assessment of the effectiveness of the use of new systems and complexes is carried out on a regular basis with the involvement of representatives of interested military command and control bodies, research organizations of the Russian Ministry of Defense and enterprises of the military-industrial complex. More than 200 types of weapons have already been tested, which have shown high efficiency based on the results of combat use and have proven their ability to perform assigned tasks.

According to the General Staff plan, the combat use of air- and sea-based high-precision weapons was carried out for the first time, and the option of using air and sea components in one strike was worked out. Long-Range Aviation Tu-160 and Tu-95MS aircraft used the new Kh-101 air-launched missile for the first time in a real combat situation.

The accuracy of the hit, recorded by means of objective control, meets the requirements, the speaker stated. At the same time, flights of strategic bombers were carried out from Russian territory along routes running over Iran and Iraq, as well as over the northern seas and the eastern part of the Atlantic. In the latter case, the planes covered 11 thousand km, making two refuelings in the air. They launched missiles over the Mediterranean Sea and returned to their home airfield.

For the first time in the practice of the Russian Navy, a massive launch of Caliber cruise missiles was carried out in combat conditions, including from a submarine that was underwater. The use of high-precision sea-based weapons made it possible to hit targets at a distance of up to 1.5 thousand km with the required accuracy.

“Thus, the testing of long-range precision weapons confirmed the ability of the Navy to maintain a presence in remote areas of the World Ocean on a long-term basis in readiness to launch single, group and joint strikes,” the speaker concluded.

The Caliber missile has an export version designed to equip submarines, surface ships, air-launched missile systems, mobile ground-based missile systems, including those placed in a standard 40-foot sea container.

As for the participation of Tu-22M3 bombers in the special operation, as the speaker noted, more than 250 sorties were carried out. In this case, Tu-22M3s were used, which had undergone modernization: specialized SVP-24-22 computing subsystems were installed on them, which made it possible to significantly increase the accuracy of bombing.

The SVP-24 “Hephaestus” system, by analyzing GLONASS data on the relative position of the aircraft and the target, taking into account atmospheric pressure, air humidity, wind speed, flight speed and a number of other factors, calculates the course, speed and altitude of dropping aircraft weapons, after which the bombing carried out automatically.

“The main contribution to solving the problems of defeating targets of illegal armed groups was made by aircraft of the operational-tactical aviation of the Aerospace Forces, as well as naval aviation of the Navy,” noted Lieutenant General Igor Makushev. – The combat tension of aviation averaged 3-4 sorties per day, and in some cases reached 6.

At the same time, the speaker said, 50 percent of the main tasks for air destruction of enemy targets were carried out by Su-24M bombers and Su-25SM attack aircraft. The modernized Su-25SM aircraft provided the ability to bomb using a satellite navigation system. In turn, the use of Su-24M bombers equipped with the SVP-24 “Hephaestus” subsystem made it possible to ensure the effectiveness of hitting enemy targets with unguided bombs, comparable to the accuracy of using guided bombs.

“The Su-34 fourth-generation fighter-bomber ensured the delivery of precise strikes both in the tactical and operational depths of enemy territory,” the speaker continued, listing the advantages of this aircraft and noting the effective use by Su-34 crews of adjustable KAB-500 aerial bombs and X-missiles. 29L with laser guidance.

For the first time, the Su-35S multirole fighter was used in real combat conditions.

“During testing, the Su-35S aircraft used adjustable aerial bombs and air-to-surface guided missiles,” said Lieutenant General Makushev. – The KAB-500KR adjustable aerial bomb with a passive homing head showed high accuracy characteristics. The Kh-29TD air-to-surface guided missile was launched, as well as the Kh-35U anti-ship missile, modified for combat use against ground targets. The maximum bomb load of the aircraft in one flight was 8 tons.

In addition, taking into account the Su-35S’s equipment with the Khibiny electronic countermeasures complex, as well as long-range air-to-air guided missiles, the aircraft performed tasks of covering air strike groups with patrol escort and setting up barriers in the air in the combat mission area.

The Ka-52 and Mi-28N combat helicopters make a significant contribution to combat missions in Syria. They are widely used both for the destruction of tanks, armored vehicles and enemy personnel, and for conducting aerial reconnaissance, ensuring the safety of take-off and landing of aircraft at the Khmeimim airfield.

“During the testing, the helicopters were used in simple and difficult weather conditions, during the day and at night, including with the use of night vision goggles,” Lieutenant General Makushev specified. “At the same time, the effective combat use of Ataka-1, Vikhr-1 anti-tank guided missiles and Igla guided missiles has been ensured.

He also emphasized that the onboard defense systems installed on the Mi-28N and Ka-52 helicopters provide warnings about irradiation by radar stations of ground-based, ship-based and on-board systems for detecting and controlling weapons, objects with laser radiation, as well as effective counteraction to man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems with infrared homing heads.

Su-33 and MiG-29K aircraft from the naval air group were used to destroy ground targets. In turn, ship-based helicopters performed the tasks of air cover, aerial reconnaissance and search for enemy submarines, as well as delivering cargo and transporting personnel.

“The daily contribution to the destruction of enemy targets during the operation of the naval aviation group averaged at least 20 percent,” the speaker said.

Russian-made artillery systems have proven themselves well in Syria. In total, the volume of fire missions carried out by missile forces and artillery in the operation exceeded 45 percent of the total number of targets designated for destruction.

“The high accuracy and efficiency of strikes was confirmed during the use of the Tochka and Tochka-U tactical missile systems by the armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic,” the speaker said.

The high effectiveness of combat use of MLRS “Smerch”, “Hurricane”, “Grad” has been confirmed. To destroy armored targets, enemy artillery and mortar crews, the 152-mm Msta-B howitzer and the 122-mm D-30 howitzer are used. The high reliability of the weapons of the missile forces and artillery is also noted.

“The TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system has proven itself to be a powerful weapon of destruction when performing fire missions,” said Lieutenant General Igor Makushev. – The nature of the targets hit – areas where illegal armed groups are located, command posts, fire weapon positions.

He noted the high efficiency of thermobaric ammunition of the TOS-1A heavy flamethrower systems when used on a massive scale, including during an attack on the prepared defenses of militants.

Summing up, Lieutenant General Igor Makushev said that the weapons tested in Syria in real conditions of armed conflict correspond to the declared characteristics.

“The identified deficiencies and individual malfunctions did not affect the performance of combat missions,” the speaker noted. “At the same time, the most thorough analysis was carried out on each problematic issue, including with the involvement of representatives of the defense industry, and comprehensive measures were developed to eliminate the causes of abnormal operation of weapons and military equipment.