Syrian army retake lost areas under fire cover of Russian warplanes

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DAMASCUS -- The Syrian army recaptured 70 kilometers of rebel-held territory in the central province of Hama, as the Syrian ground troops unleashed offensive Wednesday under the fire cover of the Russian war jets, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported.

The 50 kilometers of the retaken territory were under the control of the Jaish al-Fateh group, or the Conquer Army, an alliance of several jihadi groups, mainly the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, said the report. The other 20 kilometers were under the control of other rebel groups.

Earlier in the day, a Syrian military source told Xinhua that the Syrian army started a ground operation against rebel-held towns in the countryside of Hama under Russian and Syria air force cover.

The Hama battle marks the first instance where the Syrian military ground forces have carried out a broad offensive under the direct Russian air support.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2015-10/08/content_22128924.htm

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1. Syrian army general says new ground offensive backed by Russian air strikes will 'eliminate terroris

A Syrian military commander has said Bashar al-Assad’s army will “eliminate terrorist groups” in a new ground offensive backed by Russian air strikes.

A new barrage of air strikes and cruise missiles launched by Russian naval vessels in the Caspian Sea announced the start of the operation in the Ghab plain yesterday.

Islamist groups including al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra and other members of Jaysh al-Fatah (the Army of Conquest) made large territorial gains in the region in the summer, as did the Free Syrian Army and other anti-Assad rebels in the Syrian Revolutionary Command Council.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrian-army-general-says-new-ground-offensive-backed-by-russian-air-strikes-will-eliminate-a6686086.html

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2. Targeted assassinations return to Raqqa as five Islamic State fighters gunned down

Five Islamic State (IS) fighters in a central Raqqa neighborhood were discovered dead on Wednesday, shot down by assailants who left no trace of their identities, Hamoud al-Mousa, a member of the Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently media campaign, told Syria Direct on Thursday.

The dead are mostly foreign fighters, al-Mousa said, adding that they were “part of IS’s internal security branch.” The five were to death outside the al-Lazord Hotel, “a place usually reserved for IS foreign fighters.”

As five dead bodies could not have remained undiscovered in busy downtown Raqqa for long, “the assassination probably took place the same morning the bodies turned up,” the activist said. The killers likely fired silenced weapons, as no one in the area around the hotel reported hearing gunshots to RBSS.

A-Raqqa is on high alert following the attack, with IS setting up a security cordon around the a-Thekna district. Although firearm silencers are generally not difficult to acquire or even manufacture in a do-it-yourself workshop, silenced weapons are new in A-Raqqa.

http://syriadirect.org/news/targeted-assassinations-return-to-raqqa-as-five-islamic-state-fighters-gunned-down/

I was thinking sniper rifles.

[KoKo]

3. A bit off topic: But Pepe E. has a new article:

His article before this..I had hard time getting through. Thought he might have had a little too much fun in the bar....but, this one I thought was a pretty good read.

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The NATO-Russia Face Off In Syria

By Pepe Escobar

October 07, 2015 "Information Clearing House" - "RT" - So a Su-30 enters a few hundred meters into Turkish airspace for only two minutes over Hatay province, and returns to Syrian airspace after being warned by a couple of Turkish F-16s.

Then all hell breaks loose as if this was the ultimate pretext for a NATO-Russia war.

NATO, predictably, went out all rhetorical guns blazing. Russia is causing “extreme danger” and should immediately stop bombing those cute “moderate rebels” the coalition of the dodgy opportunists refuses to bomb.

But wait; NATO is actually too busy to go to war. The priority, until at least November, is the epic Trident Juncture 2015; 36,000 troops from 30 states, more than 60 warships, around 200 aircraft, all are seriously practicing how to defend from the proverbial “The Russians are Coming!”

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article43075.htm

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4. Thank you.

Yeah, that one was more informative.
I haven't slept in a couple days so I am not going to go on about it right now.
"Too many moving parts" is exactly right.
I've been busy today, and read the Codevilla and Bhramadur pieces, for the proper mental frame, if you have not yet.

[KoKo]

5. Thank YOU!

And...stay well..try to get some sleep. There's some "ill will" in the air right now. Causing many of us to lose sleep whether it's health related or spiritual drain. Be Well....!

Will check out Codevilla and Bhramadur pieces.