IS 'Besieged' in Last Bastion in Syria's Aleppo Province
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The Islamic State group is "completely besieged" in its last major stronghold in Syria's Aleppo province, a monitor said Monday, as pro-regime forces piled pressure on the jihadists on several fronts.
IS fighters were cut off in Al-Bab after forces loyal to the government of President Bashar Assad severed a road into the northern town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
"Al-Bab is now completely besieged by the regime from the south, and the Turkish forces and rebels from the east, north and west," said the Britain-based monitor.
It came after "the regime's forces and allied militia seized the only and last main road used by the jihadists between Al-Bab and Raqa," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, referring to the jihadists' de facto capital in Syria.
Regime forces were backed by fighters from Lebanon's Hizbullah and by Russian artillery, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its reports.
The town of Al-Bab, 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the border with Turkey, is seen as a prize by nearly all sides in the complex war.
Since December, Turkey-backed rebel fighters known as the Euphrates Shield alliance have edged towards Al-Bab from the north.
"Al-Bab is more important for the Turks, who defined the town as a priority for their Euphrates Shield alliance," said Syria expert Thomas Pierret.
But the regime, Pierret said, was eying territory around Al-Bab "to protect the eastern flank of Aleppo city," which it recaptured from rebels in December.
It also sought to use the town as a buffer, "preventing the Euphrates Shield from advancing south" deeper into Syria, he added.
- Assad lambasts Europe -
Turkey and Russia back opposing sides in the war, but have joined forces in recent months to try to end to the conflict.
The two powers carried out their first joint bombing raids around Al-Bab in January after brokering a fragile ceasefire agreement between rebels and regime forces.
Along with Iran, they organized a summit in Kazakhstan in a bid to reinforce that truce ahead of full-fledged peace talks in Geneva later this month.
Those negotiations, hosted by U.N. special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, are the latest attempt to stop the six-year conflict raging in Syria.
Several rounds of indirect talks in 2016 between the regime and the opposition, represented by the High Negotiations Committee, fizzled out without notable progress.
The HNC will announce on February 12 the members of its delegation to this month's talks, the leading Istanbul-based National Coalition said Monday.
The main obstacle to progress in previous rounds has been the fate of Assad, who opposition forces say must leave power at the beginning of any transition period.
On Monday, the Syrian president told visiting Belgian parliamentarians that Western policies towards the conflict raging in his country had actually hurt Europeans.
"Most European countries adopted an unrealistic policy since the beginning of the war in Syria... damaging the interests of their own people by supporting terrorist groups," Assad said.
- IS on defensive -
Assad's regime has refocused on IS since fully recapturing Aleppo city in December, in the biggest blow to rebel forces fighting to topple his regime for nearly six years.
IS is among several jihadist movements that have shot to prominence during the conflict, which has left more than 310,000 people dead and has forced millions more from their homes.
Assad's forces were also locked in fighting with IS in the central province of Homs at the weekend, the Observatory said.
It reported that the troops had captured the Hayyan oilfield west of the celebrated desert city of Palmyra.
They also fought back against IS around al-Seen military airport northeast of Damascus, said the monitoring group.
IS is facing simultaneous offensives in Syria and Iraq against its self-proclaimed Islamic "caliphate."
On Saturday, U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters announced a new phase in their campaign to capture Raqa, but said they needed more weapons to win.
The Syrian Democratic Forces launched their offensive for the key jihadist stronghold in November and have taken some ground further up the Euphrates Valley but are still some distance away.
SDF fighters have received training and air support from the U.S.-led coalition against IS. Last week Washington said it had provided them with armored sports utility vehicles for the first time.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who made fighting "radical Islamic terrorism" a central plank of his election campaign, was due to visit U.S. Central Command on Monday, meeting officers who will spearhead his new strategy to defeat IS.
In late January, Trump ordered generals to begin a 30-day review of the U.S. strategy to defeat the jihadist group.
06 February 2017, 15:37
510
Have you been watching the battles in eastern Aleppo. ISIS put incredible efforts in resisting the FSA and Turkish forcea while putting token resistance (and many times not fighting at all) against the Assad forces and the Kurds.
06 February 2017, 16:38
155
Good we have you on the ground to report exactly what's happening, and what the individual factions are thinking. Is it cold in Aleppo?
06 February 2017, 16:54
48
MiniHabib ... If you are following the events closely, you would not have made such an asinine comment. But then what to expect. All your comments are either nonsensical or outright lies.
06 February 2017, 16:56
48
hahahahahaha!
even your rofl is special.!
Somesing Anazar flamesrower.
06 February 2017, 16:59
48
The strategy of ISIS is rather simple. To punish Sunni Arabs for not supporting it. It is also to tell them, the alternative to us is not the FSA but the Assad regime and its sectarian militias or the Kurds
.This is the same strategy employed by tyrants since time immemorial and perfected by the Assad regime. It is to eliminate the Middle ground to make people choose the less of two evils
06 February 2017, 17:16
38
And the choice of Sunni Arabs is that they prefer the FSA and the Kurds to the ISIS and Assad monsters.
06 February 2017, 18:05
164
lol AD.com, then what happened in palmyra? and in deir ezzor?
when turks were advancing all the way to al bab they met 0 resistance from isis, instead isis moved thousands of their fighters out to attack govt forces in other places.
06 February 2017, 18:07
164
and dont pretend to be talking for "sunni arabs" and their "preferences", especially when 80% of them have moved out from "FSA" and "ISIS" areas and relocated in govt areas.
06 February 2017, 18:08
164
"FSA" being just a front for nusra, it's no different from ISIS, they just compete for loot and territory control, but have the same subhuman principles and tactics.
06 February 2017, 18:16
164
Salafidemocrat, I like the way you try to keep your "moderate" democracy loving rebels legit.
FSA are just the moderate Mask of Nusra and ISIS, they use the same flags and the same slogans, there are no difference between any of those groups, only the names.
06 February 2017, 18:20
48
Hey _mowaten_…you are one man army...in this site so many personnels against you and you never backdown you tweet them back like a birdie on Twitter…I salute your shia iranian spirit.. I luv it.
06 February 2017, 18:34
49
Mowaten and Southern ... It will be nice if one day you type something that is not a lie. Dishonest people like your masters ....
06 February 2017, 18:40
38
I respect Mr. Mowaten because he is nice, wise and never tells a lie.
06 February 2017, 18:53
123
is this a lie ya zionist supporter!!!
Trump policy is tailored to suit the zionist state desire, like all the american presidents... btw, Naharnet doesn't publish this sort of news.
https://www.rt.com/news/376467-kremlin-trump-iran-terrorism/
06 February 2017, 18:59
38
the iranian shia troll says : "especially when 80% of them have moved out from "FSA" and "ISIS" areas and relocated in govt areas."
is that statistic according to www.salon.com?
Did also 80% of sunni syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey return to assad controlled areas?
takiah liar!
06 February 2017, 19:10
38
Factual and Inspiring
Serious and Determined
Always going where no one else dares
@mowaten
What can one say, another E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-T comment. I particularly enjoyed the part where you said " dont pretend to be talking for "sunni arabs" and their "preferences", especially when 80% of them have moved out from "FSA" and "ISIS" areas and relocated in govt areas."
Thank you for making this forum lovely, lively and vibrant.
Still laughing since January 2015 when you said the $3 billion Saudi grant was only to teach our soldiers the French language.
Thank you
Yours Sincerely
@CFTC
06 February 2017, 19:28
39
Another Monday, another cold day, another storm, another article, another lie as flamethrower embarks on yet another journey in pursuit of his childhood dream to achieve excellence in the art of trolling.
06 February 2017, 19:38
38
hahahahahahaha!
Just pure genius, flamesrower! How you explain what loonie texie was saying in such simple terms is beyond me!
In other words, you are somesing anazar flamesrower!
06 February 2017, 19:50
39
_mowaten_ is the modern day version of Joseph Goebbels who said “ “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."
if you don't know who I mean .. you should !
look it up
06 February 2017, 21:07
103
Saudis keeping secrets again, Naharnet helping them
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/02/06/509301/yemen-saudi-arabia-riyadh-ballistic-missile
06 February 2017, 21:20
93
Lots of rockets are being fired towards the Saudi corrupted Kingdom as of late.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuU1A0HV6T0
06 February 2017, 21:29
92
Mentioning morale boost, I must admit I was happy to see the Ansarallah managed to make a huge Warship retreat back to Jeddah the other day.
They fight for their country and people, while the Saudi soldiers fights for money, you were not prepared for this war, Saudis are weak.
06 February 2017, 21:31
37
FT l, Southern, Mystic and minihabib .... Just came out of surgery and my head is still in the clouds. Now I see where you live.
06 February 2017, 21:45
92
Even with the American superior firepower, they never managed to win against Japan, it was first when the U.S cowards dropped two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that the Japanese surrendered.
I see Yemen more like Vietnam, The Saudis trying to create a Southern Yemen against the North, just like Americans did in Korea and Vietnam.
Ever read what happened in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)?
Americans retreating in defeat, the Vietcong was Victorious, and so will the Ansarullah and all Yemeni people become legendaries too.
Also just like the war against Israel in the South Lebanon, this is the same war as in Yemen, Wahabi zionists against a poor nation.
06 February 2017, 21:46
102
It was a guided missile that hit the Warship, same missiles they use to blow up your Shiney American Abrams/Bradley tanks.
06 February 2017, 22:01
111
Mystic 21 minutes ago
It was a guided missile that hit the Warship, same missiles they use to blow up your Shiney American Abrams/Bradley tanks.
Absolutely and definitely it was a guided missile and not a boat loaded with heretics from wilayat al faqih as this video shows:
فيديو يؤكد الهجوم الانتحاري على الفرقاطة السعودية
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kGJ_4aJTbE
06 February 2017, 22:08
17
Mystic... I am on cloud 9. Are you? Have you really studied WWII. The Japanese navy was utterly defeated, the air force lost much of its planes and the army lost its elite troops. The Soviet army has just destroyed Japanese army groups in Manchuria. That is why the nuclear bombing in Japan were so reprehensible. Please study something before commenting.
06 February 2017, 22:10
18
thanks terro, i spotted only one troll today with 6 aliases so far.
at your service.
sincerely,
your [spotting] friend..
06 February 2017, 17:43
135
besides ArabDemocract.org, we have another military expert in this forum who posts from texas, he spots all events online and at real time, while his coallition is not able to distinguish women and children from terrorists ISIS.
06 February 2017, 18:49
123
Trump policy is tailored to suit the zionist state desire, like all the american presidents... btw, Naharnet doesn't publish this sort of news.
https://www.rt.com/news/376467-kremlin-trump-iran-terrorism/
06 February 2017, 23:23
13
Southern ... I guarantee that I understand much more than you on a whole slew of issues with the exception of demogoguery, lying, double talk and dishonesty.
06 February 2017, 18:52
123
is this a lie ya zionist supporter:
Trump policy is tailored to suit the zionist state desire, like all the american presidents... btw, Naharnet doesn't publish this sort of news.
https://www.rt.com/news/376467-kremlin-trump-iran-terrorism/
07 February 2017, 00:11
12
Yes ... Southern ... Naharnet is not a propaganda tool of the Russian regime. What is next, naharnet need to copy from PressTv or north Korean media?
06 February 2017, 17:42
164
Beautiful analysis form the village idiot. Blzzz tell us more. Will Trump destroy Bashar? Is HA doomed in a week? Is Iran covertly helping Israel, Saudi, and the Turks to keep the Wahhabi democratic loving organ eating rebels down? Ooooo I cant wait for the break down LOL Blzzz extra butter on my popcorn
06 February 2017, 18:15
184
Lol, the real battlefield reporting on Naharnet can be found in the comments sections...
06 February 2017, 22:55
26
So cute when aliases of the same basement-dwelling shia heretics pretend to talk to each other.
06 February 2017, 17:45
59
I have the utmost respect for Mr. Mowaten4.0 for his love of popcorn and butter.
06 February 2017, 18:35
316
"Al-Bab is now completely besieged by the regime from the south, and the Turkish forces and rebels from the east, north and west," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
and the credibility of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was explained by @flametroller in one of his infamous quotes:
"flamethrower.......
no, you believe the syrian observatory for zionist propaganda based in london, 15000km away from the warzone and manned by one monkey with a keyboard and a direct link to alhayat terrorist media.. "
06 February 2017, 19:32
39
once again flamethrower/mowaten/hajibaba/coitus.interruptus/resistance4.0/cityboy is trashed and caught lying.
06 February 2017, 20:04
39
The shia heretic uses the Observatory when it suits his paid agenda, just like nassrallah uses and quotes Israeli leaders and media when it suits his wilayat al faqih heretic scheme.
06 February 2017, 20:44
104
Hahahahaha it never gets old! "Takiah lying" LOL! There is no limits to the special kind of stupid your are. BRAVO!
06 February 2017, 22:07
17
hahahahahaha!
Do you still have any doubts about your greatness? I sure hope not. In my book you are a King, a hero, a legend of modern times. Your ability to pick them one by one and tell who is who is simply brilliant.
In other words you are somesing anazar flamesrower!
06 February 2017, 22:19
110
is the marcus/barrybore combo part of the terro-ice-norma-eagle-justin-janoubi-exfpm, etc group that has been traumatizing you ya heretic?
07 February 2017, 05:25
12
I await the day when I will read ONE meaningful post, ONE counter argument, ONE credible or mature info from you, Flamethrower....... (8) , but alas!
06 February 2017, 21:56
26
hahahahaha!
do you see how you come back with supernatural and ruthless answers that leave those trolls speechless and bewildered. I hope you give yourself some credit as you should.
In other words you are somesing anazar flamesrower!
06 February 2017, 22:07
102
Lol, the March 14 bots got owned bad, and are now panicking like a headless chicken. "Takiah liar" repeated and spelled the same way again and again by supposedly different users? Or just the same pathetic Salafi fanboy Pakistani writing from his parents' basement somewhere in the West?
06 February 2017, 22:15
122
^ Here we have an obsessive Internet stalker. How long did it take for you to make that gif and invert all the images?
06 February 2017, 22:27
122
At least I'm not just another alias of a pathetic March 14 spambot.
06 February 2017, 22:59
101
Lol, more March 14 aliases blowing each other. Keep up the good work.
06 February 2017, 22:28
413
yes giga troll they got owned as follows:
One of them said 80% of sunnis returned to regime controlled areas and he provided evidence.
Another said the Turks were met with zero resistance from ISIS despite the fact the Turks lost tens of soldiers to-date.
Another said the Saudi frigate was hit by a guided missile despite a video showing the suicide boat speeding towards the frigate and exploding.
Now go celebrate your self serving Takiah lies in your friendly neighborhood hussainieh.
06 February 2017, 22:29
122
Yeah, I trust a Salafist pretending to be Christian to tell the truth.
06 February 2017, 22:32
412
read my post 10 more times ya heretic perhaps and only perhaps you will see who got owned.
filthy troll
06 February 2017, 22:36
122
Lol, so if you're a Christian, how am I a heretic, and not all your Salafist allies?
Or is it because you're really just a Salafist yourself?
06 February 2017, 22:49
121
So cute when aliases of the same basement-dwelling Salafist pretend to talk to each other.
06 February 2017, 23:12
29
10 posts on this article alone, and the takiah liar once said:
"gigahabib
Lol, I'm probably the least frequent poster here. Nice try."
06 February 2017, 23:16
101
Since every single March 14 spambot seems desperate to respond to my comments here, I of course have to answer and mock them each individually.
06 February 2017, 22:44
90
anonoyme and his BS stories, were you there when ISIS mysteriously appeared? were you there when abbas "begged" assad? when he "agreed to hand over Yarmouk camp"? were you there when ISIS mysteriously disappeared?
I'd ask you for sources to your crazy claims, but I've known you for a while now, and know you'll never back your lies with facts. now scream after me "TAKIAAAAAH"
06 February 2017, 22:52
05
OMG ! OMG ! OMG!
Even on an article regarding ISIS being besieged in Syria's Aleppo Province, I find you _mowaten_ spamming, trolling, and terrorizing other posters. What kind of person are you? New evidence surfaces by the minute that you are a paid poster but the question remains who pays you and for what exact purpose? Is it the Iranian embassy, is it the revolutionary guard, is it the syrian intelligence or the ex-KGB? These questions must be answered by you and NOW!
07 February 2017, 00:21
60
your links contradict each other; one says the govt and isis reached a deal, the other says the govt and Palestinians allied to fight isis. either way, they don't corroborate your claims and fantasy stories.
as for the 80% I mentioned, I dont ecpect you to admit it, knowing the kind of slimy liar you are, but it is a fact that more syrians are internally displaced (6.6M) than are refugees outside syria (4.6M). among those 6.6M internally displaced, everybody knows where they are: damascus, tartous, aleppo, homs, latakia, hama... not deir ezzour, jisr el shughur, raqqa or idlib.
07 February 2017, 02:56
14
the heretic thinks the more he keeps posting and repeating his propaganda the more people believe it. How many more times are you going to tell us that 80% of sunnis relocated to regime controlled area? lol
07 February 2017, 03:28
14
It is obvious why according to the heretic Syrians are relocating to assad controlled areas in droves.
'Syria accused of hanging up to 13,000 people at Saydnaya prison by Amnesty International'
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-07/syria-hanged-thousands-at-saydnaya-prison-amnesty-international/8246556
07 February 2017, 00:21
50
your links contradict each other; one says the govt and isis reached a deal, the other says the govt and Palestinians allied to fight isis. either way, they don't corroborate your claims and fantasy stories.
as for the 80% I mentioned, I dont ecpect you to admit it, knowing the kind of slimy liar you are, but it is a fact that more syrians are internally displaced (6.6M) than are refugees outside syria (4.6M). among those 6.6M internally displaced, everybody knows where they are: damascus, tartous, aleppo, homs, latakia, hama... not deir ezzour, jisr el shughur, raqqa or idlib.
07 February 2017, 00:23
50
80% is actually a low estimate of the Syrian population inside Syria that are in govt areas,
