Islamists rout Syrian government troops, reflecting the war’s complexities

[Sally]

There seems to be a lot of going back and forth these days with each side gaining and losing.

Islamists rout Syrian government troops, reflecting the war’s complexities
BY MOUSAB ALHAMADEE

McClatchy Foreign StaffDecember 16, 2014

Photo provided by the anti-government activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Jihadi fighters from the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and other rebel factions, rest after clashes with Syrian troops in Wadi Deif in the northwestern province of Idlib, Syria, Dec. 14, 2014.

UNCREDITED — AP







ISTANBUL — The Assad regime sustained a major setback in northern Syria this week with the loss of two major military bases, and the big winner in the battle was al Qaida's Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, which led the assault and captured what’s thought to be an enormous arsenal.

The victory by Nusra, which has been on the U.S. list of terrorist groups since 2012, marked another loss of American influence on the battlefield. It came a month after Nusra ousted two U.S.-supported moderate rebel groups from their bases in Idlib province.

Continue reading at:

ISTANBUL Islamists rout Syrian government troops reflecting the war rsquo s complexities Syria McClatchy DC





Read more:

ISTANBUL Islamists rout Syrian government troops reflecting the war rsquo s complexities Syria McClatchy DC

 

[Tom Sweetnam]

I have a big problem with lunatic Muslim rebels (al Qaeda terrorists is what they are) calling themselves an organization for human rights.

* You have the right to be murdered
* You have the right to be raped
* You have the right to be tortured (before you're murdered)
* You have the right to live in a constant state of terror
* You have the right to keep your mouth shut at all times unless otherwise told to open it, then maybe, just maybe, we won't murder you for the hell of it.

Isil was born of these people. Syria's government was duly elected by a majority. That's the truth of Syria's situation.

 

[waltky]

They just keep comin' and comin'...

Thousands of foreign jihadis pouring into Syria to join IS
Sep 28, 2015 | WASHINGTON: Nearly 30,000 foreign recruits have now poured into Syria, many to join the Islamic State, a doubling of volunteers in just the past 12 months and stark evidence that an international effort to tighten borders, share intelligence and enforce antiterrorism laws is not diminishing the ranks of new militant fighters. Among those who have entered or tried to enter the conflict in Iraq or Syria are more than 250 Americans, up from about 100 a year ago, according to intelligence and law enforcement officials.

President Obama will take stock of the international campaign to counter the IS terror group at the United Nations on Tuesday , a public accounting that comes as American intelligence analysts have been preparing a confidential assessment that concludes that nearly 30,000 foreign fighters have traveled to Iraq and Syria from more than 100 countries since 2011.

A year ago, the same officials estimated that flow to be about 15,000 combatants from 80 countries, mostly to join the militant outfit. That grim appraisal coincides with the scheduled release on Tuesday of a sixmonth, bipartisan congressional investigation into terrorist and foreign fighter tra vel, which concludes that "despite concerted efforts to stem the flow, we have largely failed to stop Americans from traveling overseas to join jihadists."

Other parts of the Obama administration's policies on Syria and for combating the IS have suffered significant setbacks, as well. A $500 million Pentagon effort to train rebel forces to take on the IS in Syria has produced only a handful of fighters. Russia has defied American attempts to block Moscow's buildup of a new air base with warplanes in Syria -a topic Obama will discuss with President Vladimir V Putin of Russia at the UN on Monday .

MORE

 

[montelatici]

They will have to deal with these Spetsnaz guys, good luck.