Syria examines the Russian army
In the military expert community, the topic of the duration of the operation in Syria of the group of the Air Force of Russia is being more actively discussed. Journalists directly asked the speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, who was at that time at the Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva, on the same Monday. “We do not think that air operations will be protracted. Their terms will be determined by the results of the struggle against the “Islamic State” (IG) and international terrorism, ”said Matvienko. She stressed that it is important to prevent the spread of this terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation to other countries and other regions, including in Russia itself.
In fact, the same reason was mentioned by the head of the presidential administration, Sergey Ivanov, as one of the main reasons for the transfer of the Russian air group to Syria. “As you have obviously heard, thousands of immigrants from Russia and the CIS countries are fighting in the ranks of ISIL,” he noted. “Will you have to wait until they practice there and quietly return home?” According to Ivanov, the Russian side in this situation is trying to “make sure that there is no one to go to Russia from ISIL and all the militants are left to lie in the land of Syria.”
HEAVENLY CARA TERRORIST
In general, according to the head of the Kremlin administration, the decision to intervene in the conflict in Syria was made because the situation in this country "became intolerable." He stressed that Russia "in this case has no foreign policy ambitions." Moscow has an understanding of the insolubility of the conflict only by military means and the need to sooner or later proceed to a political settlement, Ivanov noted. A number of media reports that he, along with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, persuaded President Vladimir Putin to launch an operation in Syria, Sergey Ivanov denied. According to him, all actions were previously considered, carefully calculated and agreed with the Supreme Commander. The final stage of the discussion took place late at night on September 29 at a meeting of the Russian Security Council, where all the pros and cons were weighed again.
“It was only after this that the president’s appeal to the Federation Council followed, the text of which I brought back to the building on Bolshaya Dmitrovka early in the morning,” the head of the Kremlin administration said. Although he acknowledged that combat aircraft and some special forces of the Armed Forces were sent to Syria in advance, despite the lack of official comments by the Russian authorities on this subject. “But let's be realistic: everyone understands that the transfer of several dozen aircraft cannot be concealed, everything is visible from space,” the head of the presidential administration said. However, this circumstance is now very few people care. The thing is done, and very successfully.
On how the Russian military conducts military operations in Syria, Vladimir Putin himself said on Tuesday at the presentation ceremony of senior officers appointed to command positions: “As a result of the operation, it was confirmed that Russia is ready to respond adequately and effectively to terrorist and any other threats to our country ". The president thanked the military for significantly increased professionalism.
It should be noted that briefings are held daily at the Ministry of Defense, which detail the progress of the operation against IS fighters (banned in Russia) in Syria. So, for example, in the first two days of the current week alone, the planes of the Russian air group in Syria made 79 sorties and launched missile and bomb attacks on 132 infrastructure facilities of the Islamic State terrorist group. Aviation worked on targets located in the provinces of Aleppo, Damascus, Idlib, Latakia, Deir Ez-Zor and Hama.
The consistent destruction from the air of the infrastructure of the terrorist organization of the IG in the Syrian Arab Republic forces extremists to leave the controlled areas. According to the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, the pinpoint use of Russian military aviation in the province of Damascus led to a fundamental change in the operational situation in the area. Militants grouping "Islamic State", experiencing an acute shortage of ammunition, massively leave their positions. By means of reconnaissance only for the preceding night, a departure was noted in the direction of the Marge Sultan settlement of several large detachments of about 100 militants each.
To this end the terrorists forced the accurate air strikes, which per day were completely destroyed: 2 command posts gangs, 3 warehouse of ammunition and weapons, 2 underground bunker, 32 firing positions in forested mountainous terrain, 9 fortified firing positions gangs, the production start-up workshop installations and rockets.
In the course of aerial reconnaissance in the area of the settlement of El-Es, Idlib province, Russian unmanned vehicles opened the command post of one of the detachments of the Dzhebkhat al-Nusrah group. After additional exploration of the object through other channels, the Su-24 bomber struck an air strike on it. The applied bomb detonated the command post of the terrorists and two trucks next to it equipped with anti-aircraft gun ZU-23.
In the area of the village of Jub al-Zaruss, Hama province, Su-34 bomber was hit by adjustable bombs on underground shelters with an extensive network of exits in various parts of the village. The complex of underground structures of terrorists destroyed.
“The Su-25 attack aircraft near the village of Jdayd, Aleppo province, destroyed the terrorists workshop for the production of home-made rockets,” said Konashenkov. “In the equipped premises, disposable launchers and missiles were manufactured for shelling the positions of the Syrian armed forces and settlements. As a result of a direct hit by the bomb and the subsequent detonation of the stored explosives, the object was completely destroyed. ”
Means of radio interception 19 October information was received about the planned gathering of the commanders of bandit groups operating in the area of the Sarmin village of the province of Idlib. After additional verification of this information through other channels, establishing the time and place of the meeting, it was decided to strike at the gathering place of the militant leaders. This object, which was the basement of one of the abandoned single buildings, was organized observation from unmanned aerial vehicles. The following night, a cluster of 9 all-terrain vehicles equipped with large-caliber machine guns was detected at the indicated location. A Su-34 bomber at the gathering place was dealt a point hit with a KAB-500 adjustable bombshell, which destroyed this object with all its contents.
TIPA AND PANIC AMONG THE FIGHTERS
TOC-1A "Sunlight" in work. Photos from the official website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
The methods used by Russia to support Syrian government forces are already yielding results. Several tactically important territories in the north of the country and areas adjacent to Damascus were liberated from the IS militants. The actions of the government army and its supporting militias from Iran, Lebanon and a number of CIS countries are assisted not only by air strikes of the Russian Federation, but also by weapons great destructive power, which, apparently, was recently delivered to the troops of Bashar al-Assad.
Among the impressive novelties are the blows of the TOS-1A “Solntsepek” heavy flame-thrower system recorded by witnesses. Frames of the possible use of CBT in the Idlib and Homs area and the terrorists ’flight of panic from them are common on the Internet. And this is understandable - "Sunlight" uses missiles, the head part (30 kg) of which is filled with incendiary substance or thermobaric mixture. These mixtures form an aerosol cloud, which, when exploded, creates the effect of a volumetric explosion. The action of TOC-1А is especially effective in mountainous areas or in well-equipped fortifications, urban buildings, etc. Gas penetrates everywhere, and from one salvo of the “Solnephek” a continuous defeat of the enemy is possible on the area up to 4 ha, which is equivalent to undermining a nuclear weapon of ultra low or low power.
How "Solntsepek" appeared in Syria is not known, their supplies to the troops of Assad were not officially announced. Now this weapon except the Russian Federation have Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Iraq. And now the TOC is apparently used by Syrian government troops. In order to make sure that the video captured the work of TOC-1А, we watched the shooting of the shooting "Sunpinek" from close range at the Russian training ground. The picture is almost identical. Consequently, in Syria, the Islamists drove the Suns into anguish and panic. But artillery, volley fire systems, and aviation work equally effectively there. What essentially helps the Syrian army to oppose the militants of the IG and other extremist formations.
Arab media have reported successful government offensive in a number of provinces. This is also confirmed by the Internet portal "Russian Spring". He still publishes detailed reports of the Donbas militia with the call sign Timur, who is now in the Kurdish resistance units and is allegedly responsible for coordinating the actions with the Syrian army.
“It was confirmed that they captured the“ commander of the 17th brigade “Jaysh ul-Islam.” His name is Yasin Mustafa Ramadan, ”the militia writes and adds:“ Under Idlib, it is unknown who slammed a couple of field commanders with explosions. And it is known who covered Saudi’s Abdal Muhsin al-Fadli with a group of comrades. Apparently, Timur is hinting at the actions of special forces or at the targeted strikes of our aircraft. “From this province (meaning Idlib. -“ IEE ”), the“ people ”are actively pouring into Turkey. I personally saw the shooting of the Turkish military police cordons with tanks and armored personnel carriers. Moreover, it seems, on the Syrian side of the border. They say that they are filtering militants or those who might be suspected of belonging to them. And they take away the identified ones or wrap them back. ” He notes the serious successes of Assad’s troops near Aleppo and says “about the beginning of forced mobilization in the ranks of the IS in Raqqa”.
HOW MUCH EVERYTHING WILL BE STRAINED
But until the victory of the Syrian troops and complete liberation from the militants of Syria, of course, far away. And this means that Russian aviation will stay in the Middle East for a long time.
And here everything is explained by the information of the Chief of the Main Operations Directorate - Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov, who did not rule out the creation of a full-fledged military base in Syria with sea, air and land components. Against this background, Americans continue to show unfriendly actions against the Russian Federation. Last Saturday, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said that when preparing a document on flight safety in the skies over Syria, the Pentagon refused to offer the Russian Federation to conduct joint operations to rescue pilots of downed aircraft. What does this mean?
First, the United States fears an increase in the intensity and expansion of the geography of Russian air strikes on IS positions and transferring them to Iraqi territory, where the Pentagon has military facilities and where it interacts with certain militant groups that are oppositional to the current government in Baghdad.
Secondly, the United States, apparently, still does not intend to fight intensively against the IS and to widely use its aircraft in the skies over Syria and Iraq. The goals of Russia in the Middle East are not fully visible. It is clear that in addition to military measures, Moscow is activating work on the diplomatic front. She begins a dialogue with moderate opposition, as reported by the Russian Foreign Ministry. President Vladimir Putin said that the air operations of the Russian Federation in Syria against the IG will be conducted with a temporary restriction - for a period of offensive operations by the Syrian army. And they, judging by the dynamics of what is happening, can stretch out over a period of more than a year.
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