Syrian civilians smash ISIS terrorists near Aleppo

[Bleipriester]

Syrian civilians protecting their towns regained ground against ISIS terrorists and repelled ISIS counterattacks.

Aleppo, SANA – The people of Ayn al-Arab city northeast of Aleppo on Friday repelled attacks by ISIS terrorists on a number of areas which the locals had recaptured during the past few days, while media outlets reported that the locals regained control of the cultural center the 48th Street.

Local sources from the city said that ISIS terrorist attacked areas controlled by the townspeople after midnight, and clashes continued until the early hours of dawn, with the locals managing to repel the attack and inflicted heavy losses upon the terrorists, in addition to attacking an area where ISIS was gathering southwest of the city.

The sources said that locals also eliminated ISIS concentrations in the village of Minazi southwest of the city and assumed control of the area around the radio tower in the city’s western countryside.

Media sources reported that the city is almost clear of all ISIS terrorists except for a small number, and that the terrorists positioned themselves behind Ayn Arab hill and Mashta al-Nour Mountain following fierce battles on Thursday night which forced the terrorists to retreat from the cultural center the 48th Street and retreat 7 kilometers away from the radio building controlled by locals.
People of Ayn al-Arab regain control of cultural center and 48th Street Syrian Arab News Agency

 

[waltky]

Aleppo=Nineveh...

Hundreds of Iranian troops mass near Aleppo, U.S. official and activists say
October 14, 2015 — Hundreds of Iranian soldiers have massed in northern Syria in recent days and are poised to back Syrian forces in a ground offensive under cover of Russian airstrikes, a senior U.S. defense official and Syrian activists said Wednesday.

The element from Iran’s elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard Corps has gathered near the Syrian city of Aleppo, said the defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. The number of Iranian soldiers is in the hundreds, rather than thousands, as some reports have indicated, he said. Syrian officials denied the claims, however, while some Syrian rebels said that militia fighters from Iraq but backed by Iran were being deployed in the area.

Iran has long had commanders and military advisers on the battlefield in Syria. But the deployment would show a deepening involvement in the four-year civil war in support of President Bashar al-Assad as Russia steps up its military intervention, assisting Syrian ground forces with two weeks of airstrikes. Moscow says its strikes have mainly targeted Islamic State militants, but U.S. officials and Syrian rebels say the Russian strikes have largely hit other groups fighting Assad and are aimed at propping up his government.

The defense official said the Iranian forces and Syrian troops, backed by Russian airstrikes, are expected to begin an operation near Aleppo imminently. A salvo of 26 Russian cruise missiles launched at targets in the area last week from nearly 1,000 miles away in the Caspian Sea probably were fired to destroy targets before the upcoming offensive, the U.S. defense official said. The Islamic State has little presence in Aleppo but made gains around the city last week after the Russian cruise-missile strikes on other rebel groups — raising questions over whether any offensive will target territory held by the Islamist militants.

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