The battle of Aleppo is about to begin in northern Syria. The ground offensive will include a coalition made up of Syrian and Iranian troops, protected by Russian air support. The Aleppo area, near the Turkish border, is only partially controlled by the Syrian government. The main areas, including some rural areas near the city, would be in the hands of the insurgents fighting Assad and the Islamic State.
Hezbollah, 1500 / 2500 men, are already in Syria. Despite the denials of the past few weeks, thousands of Iranians have arrived in the last 48 hours, who have already barricaded themselves in advanced positions and would be ready to counterattack. Their number is growing and soon they could have a strong contingent of 5 / 7 thousand soldiers. The Iranians, in addition to the political alliance with Assad, must avenge the death of General Hossein Hamedani, which occurred last week precisely in the province of Aleppo, in surrounding areas that still seem unclear and for an episode that would justify its massive intervention in the international community (not surprisingly we talked just about Casus Belli).
All ground forces are coordinated by General Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, which operates a network of delegated forces throughout the Middle East, including Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.
The Quds Force or Jerusalem Brigade, wing for the special operations of the Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, is held responsible for the death of hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq. According to the Pentagon, the Quds Force would support terrorist groups in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. Hezbollah, a Russian and Iranian ally, fought alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces since the start of the Syrian civil war.
In the last hours 24, meanwhile, the Russians have carried out 88 sorties on 86 enemy positions in Raqqa, Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Aleppo.
In an audio message issued a few hours ago, by the movement's spokesman, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, the Islamic State urged Muslims to launch a "holy war" against the Russians and the Americans. "Islamic youth around the world, it's time to launch jihad against the crusaders".
You fight in Kafr Nabuda
Much clashes between rebel and government troops have been taking place since last Monday for the conquest of the city of Kafr Nabuda in the province of Hama. The city marks the western limit of the defensive line along which the rebels have positioned a dozen anti-tank platforms provided by the CIA. Precisely the rebels are hoping for greater military support from the Arab states, in particular from Saudi Arabia.
The TOW program, supervised by the CIA, is totally separate from the miserably failed Pentagon which, according to intentions, should have influenced the outcome of the other war waged in Syria, that in the north-eastern part of the country against the Islamic State. The CIA started the TOW program in the early months of the 2014, with the aim of countering Damascus by providing training, light weapons, ammunition and anti-tank missiles: tools that would prove essential to bridge the gap with the loyal government's heavy equipment.
In 2013, Saudi Arabia purchased 13.975 anti-tank missiles, a fully delivered supply. By contract, the Saudi government must inform the United States of the final destination of the missiles. United States approval is implicit.
(photo: TASS / web)
