The war in Syria in these hours is played on two main fronts: on the one hand the side of Raqqa, where the Syrian Democratic Forces backed by the US (with the approval of Moscow) they advance rapidly against the militias of the Islamic State; on the other, there is the northern sector of Hama where the Damascus troops are in full counter-offensive against the jihadist rebels.
Two different fronts, two decisive answers for the future of Syria and the Middle East.
The offensive on Raqqa revolves around the city of Tabqa and is also fed through Lake Assad, freed from the SDF on the east bank and from the Syrian army on the north west. Damascus officially opposes the role of Syrian Democratic Forces, but with the supervision of Moscow it swallows the toad and saves forces, useful to employ elsewhere.
The other is called the Governorate of Hama, at 200 km north of Damascus. The war has flared up again just over a month ago and with greater violence in the region.
It all started with the creation in January of Movement for the Liberation of the Levant (Hayyat Tahir al Sham), a new jihadist cartel operating in the northwest of Syria. The group is the fusion of the former Al Nusra (the'Al Qaeda Syrian) and other Salafist groups (in all 17), to which terrorists are being added Ahrar Al Sham and unity of the Free Syrian Army, returning from the mission Shield of the Euphrates alongside the Turks.
The Islamist cartel according to the alarm launched last winter by the Kremlin, will be the jihadist heir of the Islamic State, now reduced and destined to disappear politically during the 2017. A few days ago the Trump administration included the new jihadist formation in the list of international terrorist groups. 
The reshuffling of cards between jihadist groups in northwestern Syria has brought to the attention a corner of Syria for a relatively quiet time. In the Idlib area, all the jihadist "exiles" who in other regions (Damascus, Homs, Daraa, etc.) accepted the agreements with the Damascus government for a return in exchange for transfer were brought together for a whole year.
With the support of Turkey that continues to arm and protect the Turkmen rebel groups (and not only ...), the band between the governorates of Latakia, Idlib and Hama has become a new single great front between anti-Assad Islamist rebels and forces Syrian government officials.
The presence of Qawat Al-Nimr (Tiger Forces) in the area, moved for the occasion from the east front of Aleppo, is very indicative. Used by the 2015 for all large-scale assault operations (liberation of Aleppo, reconquest of Palmyra, etc.), I am the thermometer of the situation on the battlefield. Without prejudice to the war against ISIS in the east, the decisive clashes for the reclamation of Syrian territory from Islamic terrorism take place in fact just north of Hama. The province was interested throughout the month of March by a large jihadist military activity.
It almost seems a historical destiny: the region is crossed by the Oronte ("the rebel", because unlike the other Syrian rivers it flows from south to north), already epic at the time of the Crusades and is inhabited by an important Christian community. Just to defend the Christians of Mahardah, less than 30 km from Hama, they have been displaced unit of the Russian military police, already employed in the Aleppo reclamation operations starting from December 2016.
Moscow's involvement on the north-western front is very heavy. As is known, the coastal strip of the Governorate of Latakia (in particular the bases of Tartus and Khmeimim), is the heart of the military commitment in Syria as well as the main training area for some Syrian elite units, such as the marines (Mughawayr al-Bahr). Just about "marines", units of 61a Russian Navy Infantry Brigade, already operating in Aleppo and Palmira, would be involved in these hours in the preparations for the great anti-jihadist offensive in the Hama region.
Together with the Russian soldiers, alongside the Syrian regulars and paramilitaries, the conspicuous forces sent by Iran must be mentioned. Hundreds of Pasdaran, would have flowed in recent days on the Hama front in view of a large-scale attack against the Islamist militants of Hayyat Tahir al Sham. Many Shiite fighters are already active in the area, including Hezbollah militias from Lebanon.
Iran, indicated for decades by the West as the sponsor of Islamic terrorism, continues to play a significant role in the struggle without quarter to Sunni fundamentalism.
(photo: SAA -TASS)
