The news bounced from Aleppo last night with some insistence, but has not yet been confirmed. The Syrian rebels claim to have eliminated the commander of the Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, near Aleppo. The rebels claim to have launched a TOW missile against the vehicle in which the commander of the Iranian forces traveled in Iraq and Syria. In the same car, the rebels claim to have also eliminated three Iranian commanders: Masoud Askari, Mahmud Dahakan and Ahmed Rajai.
We know that in the latest 72 hours, the 4a mechanized Division of the Syrian army, with Hezbollah, National Defense Forces (NDF) of Aleppo, and the battalions of Al-Ba'ath, Harakat Al-Nujaba (Iraqi paramilitary), Kataeb Hezbollah (Iraqi paramilitaries) and Firqa Fatayyemoun (Iranian paramilitary), captured the strategic cities of Al-Hadher and Tal Al-'Eiss, paving the way for the Damascus-Aleppo highway from the eastern flank. The news, we repeat, has not been confirmed.
The TOW missiles (acronym of Tube-launched Optically-tracked Wire-guided), were supplied by the United States and its allies to the Free Syrian Army and to the groups fighting against the government of Bashar al-Assad. At a cost of 12 / 15 thousand dollars per specimen, it is clear that this anti-tank equipment was part of the American standard equipment in support of the rebel troops.
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. The missiles arrive in Syria from Saudi Arabia, upon supply from the CIA.
The plan, as described by the Pentagon, aimed to exert sufficient military pressure against Assad's forces and convince him to a political compromise. A sort of "invitation" to the negotiating table, perhaps avoiding the collapse that would have unleashed chaos in the country. The entry of Russia, on the other hand, has upset the whole CIA strategy.
Returning to the alleged eliminations of Soleimani. The latter, an old acquaintance of the USA, is the commander of the Quds Force, which manages a network of delegated forces throughout the Middle East, including Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon La Forza Quds or Jerusalem Brigade, wing for 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.
The hope, on pain of escalating the conflict, is that what the rebels claim is false. If its elimination were confirmed, Iran would expand its involvement in Syria, considering the role of Soleimani (already subjected to sanctions by the West), considered a hero at home. Since the 2010, the alleged death of Soleimani has been announced several times. The last photo of Soleimani dates back to 21 hours ago.
