Coalition strikes near Palmyra killed 38 jihadists: monitor

17 December 2016 - 20H39  GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Nasra Ismail and Biodun Iginla, France24, Beirut

 
 
 
 
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© AFP/File | Islamic State group fighters retook the ancient city of Palmyra, seen in March 2016, in central Syria on December 11, just eight months after the army backed by Russia drove them out

BEIRUT - 

At least 38 Islamic State group fighters have been killed in US-led coalition air strikes this week near Syria's ancient city of Palmyra, a monitor said on Saturday.

The jihadists retook Palmyra in central Syria on December 11, just eight months after the army backed by Russia drove them out.

On Thursday, US-led coalition aircraft destroyed heavy weaponry seized by the jihadists when they retook the city, the coalition said.

A statement on Friday said the strikes destroyed an air defence artillery system, 14 tanks, three artillery systems, two IS-held buildings and two tactical vehicles.

Among the Russian weaponry IS captured around Palmyra were thought to be modern surface-to-air missiles, or SAMs, giving jihadists the potential capability to shoot down aircraft, a coalition official told us at France24.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group based in Britain, said that "at least 38 IS members were killed in the air strikes".

The strikes, near the Tiyas military air base northeast of Palmyra, helped regime forces gain some ground west of the fabled city, said the Observatory.

Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its recapture by IS gave the jihadists a propaganda boost as they face assaults on two of their key strongholds -- Raqa in Syria and Iraq's second city Mosul.

 

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Status of main battle fronts in Syria and Iraq

14 December 2016 - 20H19  GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Nasra Ismail and Biodun Iginla, France24 News Analysts, Beirut

 
 
 
 
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© AFP | More than 465 civilians, including 62 children, have died in east Aleppo during the assault, the Observatory said in a new toll

BEIRUT - 

Here are the latest developments on the main battle fronts in Syria and Iraq, as of 1830 GMT on Wednesday:

SYRIA

- Battle for Aleppo -

Shelling and air strikes sent terrified residents running through the streets of Aleppo amid international efforts to save a deal to evacuate rebel-held districts of the city.

A month into an assault to regain control of all of the northern city, Syria's army has taken back more than 90 percent of the former rebel stronghold in east Aleppo.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported "very intense clashes on every front line" and said at least two people had been killed in rebel areas.

State television said rebel rocket fire on government-controlled areas had also resumed, killing at least seven people.

It was unclear how many civilians remained in rebel territory, after an estimated 130,000 fled to other parts of Aleppo during the government advance.

More than 465 civilians, including 62 children, have died in east Aleppo during the assault, the Observatory said Wednesday in a new toll.

Another 142 civilians, among them 42 children, have been killed by rebel rocket fire on government-held zones in the same period, the monitor said.

- Palmyra -

With regime forces focused on taking Aleppo, the Islamic State group has re-seized the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria, just eights months after the army backed by Russia drove the jihadists out.

Retaking the UNESCO World Heritage site on Sunday gave the jihadist group an important propaganda boost as it faces assaults on two key bastions -- Syria's Raqa and Iraq's Mosul.

- Raqa -

A US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance is fighting to seize IS's de facto Syrian capital of Raqa, east of Aleppo.

Backed by US troops and air strikes from a US-led coalition, members of the Syrian Democratic Forces have advanced to within 25 kilometres (15 miles) of the city.

IRAQ

- Battle for Mosul -

Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary forces said on Tuesday they retook three more villages southwest of Mosul, completing another phase in operations aimed at cutting the jihadists' link to Syria.

Pro-government forces launched an assault on October 17 to eject IS from its last Iraqi stronghold. They have taken almost half of eastern Mosul.

The elite Counter-Terrorism Service now controls several eastern neighbourhoods and is closing in on the river Tigris that divides the city.

Federal police and interior ministry forces have mostly been fighting on a southern front, stalled within striking distance of Mosul airport.

The United Nations says a total of 90,000 people have been displaced as a result of the Mosul operation.

 

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IS fighters may have seized air-defense weapons in Palmyra: US general

14 December 2016 - 19H39  GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Melissa Gruz and Biodun Iginla, France24, Washington DC

 
 
 
 
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WASHINGTON - 

Islamic State fighters possibly seized air-defense weapons when they recaptured the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, a US general said Wednesday, adding a potential complication to the coalition's air war.

Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, who commands the US-led coalition bombing IS in Iraq and Syria, said jihadists seized a trove of gear when they retook the desert city from Russia-backed Syrian regime troops on Sunday.

"We believe that includes some armored vehicles and various guns and other heavy weapons, possibly some air-defense equipment," Townsend told us at France24 and other news media in a video briefing from Baghdad.

The US-coalition that has been bombing IS since 2014 has enjoyed near-total air superiority across Iraq and Syria, sustaining only limited small-arms damage to a couple of aircraft.

"Basically, anything they (IS) seize poses a threat to the coalition, but we can manage those threats and we will," Townsend said.

"I anticipate that we'll have opportunities to strike that equipment and kill the ISIL that's operating it soon."

Townsend did not describe whether the air-defense weapons were anti-aircraft guns or missiles.

IS overran Palmyra on Sunday, nine months after being expelled by Russian air strikes and forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad.

IS had initially seized Palmyra in May 2015 and went on to blow up UNESCO-listed Roman-era temples and loot ancient relics.

Townsend said the coalition would, at least initially, defer to the Russians to try to retake Palmyra.

"If they don't, we will do what we need to do to defend ourselves and we'll de-conflict those actions with the Russians."

The Pentagon and coalition partners have accused Moscow and Damascus of taking their eyes off Palmyra to focus on bombing the former rebel bastion of Aleppo.

The US-led coalition, which is narrowly focused on fighting the IS group, has not had an active role in Aleppo, and Townsend said the regime's recapture of the city would have only a "relatively moderate" effect on coalition actions in Syria.

"Because I think the regime and the opposition forces that are fighting their war adjacent to ours will take their fight elsewhere," he said without giving details.

 

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