Operation Raqqa (Syria) Begins - November 7, 2016

So we done gone and did it, American special forces on the ground leading YPG Kurdish militias and hired Syrian mercenaries have begun the operation to capture Raqqa with the intent on governing it for the future. RT even got some talk time with the guys on the ground. I will try to keep this update similar to the thread I do with the Battle for Mosul, but I may not keep it up too frequently until they get close. In the meantime, lets see whats going on shall we??




Looks like both sides have already scored some hits too.
#SDF forces besiege #ISIS -held town (Hisha) in northern #Raqqa countryside.
#Raqqa: #ISIS destroying #YPG Humvees with ATGM south of #Ayn_Issa today.

The race to Berlin has begun???

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Please keep us updated. But not too much don't need to warn them.

a reply to: Hermit777

I don't think I can give them more of an advantage than CNN or the BBC, especially considering they both narrowly escaped car bombs and firefights just yesterday. The BBC came especially close to being blown to bits, check it out if you did not already see it. It is one of the recent posts I added.



Looks like we will see similar weaponry deployed by both sides. It shocks me how many guided anti tank weapons are in ISIS hands ... they have been wreaking Hell on Iraqi and Kurdish forces during the Mosul OP.

Here are the lines thus far:

a reply to: worldstarcountry

That is scary being a reporter there is just not sure what it is but be safe and let BBC or CNN make the mistakes

Holy #, I thought this OP was going to bore the # out of me, considering how Mosul has fissled out mostly. Was I wrong or what? French just blew the # outta some bad guys outside Raqqah!
The French Army blowing up #ISIS in #Raqqah , Good Job guys!

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Its slow on the flow of intel out of this operation. Looks like they recently seized some weapons heading towards daesh. Thats always a plus.

#SAA have seized a huge quantity of weapons that was headed towards #ISIS in #Raqqa #Syria via the road of Atharya

Hey ya'll, great thread OP...I thought that Raqqa was gonna be on hold for a little bit, due to what Trump said... i usually keep great tabs on this stuff but seems i slacked in the last couple of days...I have a vested interest in where we are fighting..I understand what's going on in Mosul at the moment but like I said need to catch up with the syrian Forces....

Also this is one of the best news sites I have found! It reports in real time as events unfold all over the world...Just select a topic and a country and its got the latest headlines....News now


Thanks,

pax

a reply to: paxnatus

They do no seem to be too concerned right now about an impending offensive??


also upon listening closely and seeing how to missile landed in the last video I posted, I think they may have used a Javelin missile.

I meant to post this earlier today, but I got busy.
US serviceman dies after IED blast in Syria

An American serviceman has died after being wounded by an improvised explosive device in northern Syria, officials have said.

The man was fatally injured near the town of Ayn Issa, the US military's central command said.

Around 300 US servicemen and women are on the ground in support of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting Islamic State militants near Raqqa.

In a statement, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said: "The entire counter-Islamic State coalition sends our condolences to this hero's family, friends and teammates.

"On this Thanksgiving, please be thankful that there are service members willing to take up the fight to protect our homeland from IS's hateful and brutal ideology."

a reply to: worldstarcountry
They are arriving from Mosul now.

Black Hawks flying around in norther Raqqa


And we get some gopro cam footage mounted on a British soldier YPG volunteer.



i wonder if he crossed paths with this guy yet?

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
And we get some gopro cam footage mounted on a British soldier YPG volunteer.

I see the original user removed the video, but the beauty of the internet is, someone else will always have uploaded it Although now seeing this other source, the video was not recent at all, but from earlier this year. Boots on the ground baby, boots on the ground!!!

So finally something else happened around Raqqa recently with US airstrikes taking down a daesh training camp. Courtesy of Al-Masdar News

Unfortunately for the US-backed SDF, Kurdish fighters have not gained any ground since capturing Tall es-Seman two weeks ago. If one is to believe some reports, this is primarily due to the SDF having to fend off Turkish-backed attacks en route to Manbij city in neighbouring Aleppo province.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Nice thread.

I think a lot of people get confused that ISIS are a rag-tag, untrained bunch of brutes... It's partially true, many of them are ex military and were trained by coalition forces before they pulled out of Iraq.

They knew where military hardware could be seized.

Of course a lot of underhanded stuff goes on too... That's what threads like this are good for, seeing what's happening and then asking the right questions.

Cheers for keeping us up to date

a reply to: RAY1990

[yvid][/yvid]

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Arab tribes in Raqqa countryside express support for the SDF against ISIS
Abdullah Muhammad, an Arab tribal leader in Raqqa, told ARA News: “We want to thank the Syrian Democratic Forces for their bravery in combatting ISIS in our hometown. We also thank the US-led coalition for its support. This blessed campaign is in favour of Raqqa’s people.”
“The Arab tribes of Raqqa fully support this campaign, which is aimed at liberating our hometown from ISIS terrorists,” Muhammad said.

“We are also ready to establish a civilian administration to run the city as soon as ISIS is defeated and expelled from Raqqa. We are preparing to administratively run the city and provide the people with all the necessary services,” he added.

Muhammad al-Raqqawi, another Arab tribal leader from Raqqa, told ARA News: “The people of Raqqa are now stranded inside the city. We call on the other tribal groups inside Raqqa to support the Syrian Democratic Forces in this campaign in order to liberate the city from ISIS and guarantee people’s safety.”

“Today we’re accompanying the SDF forces to stress that these are liberating forces not occupying ones,” al-Raqqawi said.

Well then, I hope and pray for renewed success!

#US made RQ-20 Puma Drone (used by US Army/Marines/Airforce) captured by #ISIS near #Raqqah.

Clashes between #ISIS and Turkish-backed Al-Hamza Brigade (Free Syrian Army) in Al-Bab today.

a reply to: worldstarcountry
This is kind if interesting. Dropping a cruise missile from a Russian bomber.

Published on Feb 17, 2017

Aerial footage showing a Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS bomber and missile launch platform deploying a payload of X-101 cruise missiles over Syria, was released by the Russian Ministry of Defence on Friday.

A little about the X-101 cruise missile.

The Kh-101 (Russian: X-101) version has a low radar cross-section of about 0.01 square meters.[10] Kh-102 is a nuclear version.

The Kh-101 is specifically designed for air-launch, abandoning the circular fuselage cross-section of the Kh-55 for a nose and forward fuselage section "aerodynamically shaped" to produce lift. It is 7.45 m (24.4 ft) long with a launch weight of 2,200–2,400 kg (4,900–5,300 lb) and is equipped with a 400 kg (880 lb) high-explosive, penetrating, or cluster warhead, or a 250 kT nuclear warhead for the Kh-102. The missile is powered by a TRDD-50A turbojet producing 450 kg (990 lb) of thrust to cruise at 700–720 km/h (430–450 mph; Mach 0.57–Mach 0.59) with a maximum speed of 970 km/h (600 mph; Mach 0.79) while flying 30-70 m (100-230 ft) above the ground, and hit fixed targets using a pre-downloaded digital map for terrain following and GLONASS/INS for trajectory correction to achieve accuracy of 6-10 meters; it is claimed to be able to hit small moving targets like vehicles using a terminal electro-optical sensor or imaging infrared system. Range estimates vary from >2,000 km (1,200 mi), to 4,500–5,000–5,500 km (2,800–3,100–3,400 mi), to as much as 10,000 km (6,200 mi) with a flight endurance of 10 hours; long range is essential since Russia has few bases abroad and cannot provide distant fighter escorts. An American counterpart would be the (decommissioned) AGM-129, which incorporated a stealthy airframe and 3,700 km (2,300 mi) range. The Tu-95MS can carry eight of the weapons on four under-wing pylons and the Tu-160 can be outfitted with two drum launchers each loaded with six missiles for 12 total, but the smaller Tu-22M3 will continue to carry the Kh-555.[11][12][13][14][15]

The first tests were conducted in 1995, accepted for service in 2012.[16]

The following was uploaded recently as well. Looks like the YPG and SDF just kind of redeploying and getting their # together. That tracked vehicle in the beginning is an interesting adaptation to a bulldozer.


And an update from a regional news outlet.