Syria Civil War update - Government Recaptures Daraa province bordering Israel

A few months ago I remember some posters questioning why Israel was allowing this pocket of Islamic State militants to chill on their border, alleging that Israel was actually supporting them. Well, it appears they did a poor job.

That IS stronghold has been effectively retaken by Syrian government forces.

The Syrian regime has reclaimed a sliver of territory in southern Syria that was under the control of Islamic State, sealing its military victory in the strategic southern territories that rebelled in 2011 against Bashar al-Assad and fully reestablishing its hold over the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said forces loyal to the Syrian regime had taken control of the last towns and villages in the province of Daraa that were under the control of Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Waleed, an Isis affiliate that controlled the Syrian part of the Yarmouk River basin, a tributary that runs through Syria, Jordan and Israel.

Of course this whole situation is complicated. IS wasn't the only group holed up there. There were also pockets of resistance fighters backed by the West. Folks love to conflate the two and claim Israel or the US was backing Islamic State. Israel must have just been confused then when they attacked the IS fighters.

Israel did mostly leave this pocket of IS alone though, and I suspect this was the reason why. They knew the Syrian government was going to take care of it. Why waste your own manpower and equipment on them if someone else will do it for you? They weren't attacking Israel on a regular basis, and on the few occasions they did, Israel struck back immediately and things settled down.

Anyway, I'm sure there will still be insurgency in the region. Just because Assad's government claims to "control" the area doesn't mean everything will be peaceful. But the Syrian government has made a lot of progress in that area. IS is almost totally wiped out in Syria now.

That whole region is insane. I don’t think it’s worth supporting any of those groups. Maybe Israel just has the good sense to stay out of that mess.

The Kurds have begun talks to reconcile with the Syrian government. It really shouldn't be too hard, because unlike the Rebels the Kurds mostly avoided fighting Assad's forces (with a few scattered exceptions).

There are a couple of isolated ISIS pockets left, but I imagine they'll be cleaned up soon enough. ISIS still pops up to cause trouble, but as a major force they're finished.

There are reports that Syria is preparing a major offensive to re-take Idlib in northern Syria. The Kurds have even offered to help them with this, because it means they'll get to shoot at Turkish forces.

a reply to: Metallicus

Don't forget, the Syrian civil war grew out of the "Arab Spring," which was Western governments supporting uprisings in various countries around the Middle East and Northern Africa. It was purposefully intended to destabilize the region.

originally posted by: AndyFromMichigan
a reply to: Metallicus

Don't forget, the Syrian civil war grew out of the "Arab Spring," which was Western governments supporting uprisings in various countries around the Middle East and Northern Africa. It was purposefully intended to destabilize the region.

I am all for just leaving these people alone. If we actually quit messing with the region the people living there would be far too busy fighting each other to care about the rest of us.

originally posted by: Metallicus

originally posted by: AndyFromMichigan
a reply to: Metallicus

Don't forget, the Syrian civil war grew out of the "Arab Spring," which was Western governments supporting uprisings in various countries around the Middle East and Northern Africa. It was purposefully intended to destabilize the region.

I am all for just leaving these people alone. If we actually quit messing with the region the people living there would be far too busy fighting each other to care about the rest of us.

This sounds nice, but it's not really true. bin Laden's big beef with us was that when Iraq invaded Kuwait the Arab world rejected his offer to be the one who expelled Saddam and protect the rest of them and asked the US for help instead. That's not really "messing with the region".

a reply to: face23785
At least the Syrians only lost one jet to Israeli fire when they were carrying out their anti-ISIS mission. Actually every time they have done anti-isis ops along the Israeli borders, the IAF would regularly attack the Syrian government forces.

I will stick to believing that the Israelis had their reasons. It is really just coincidence if you ask me,

a reply to: face23785

Good, perhaps some peace and normalcy will return to that region with an actual organized government in control there.

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
a reply to: face23785
At least the Syrians only lost one jet to Israeli fire when they were carrying out their anti-ISIS mission. Actually every time they have done anti-isis ops along the Israeli borders, the IAF would regularly attack the Syrian government forces.

I will stick to believing that the Israelis had their reasons. It is really just coincidence if you ask me,

In that case it was because the Syrian jet breached their airspace. You know what happens if you just let that happen without consequences? They will keep doing it.

a reply to: face23785

'Our' messing with the region predates Saddam and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait by quite some time.

Personally I'm all for pulling out of the region and letting them get on with it....but that won't happen, too much money at stake.

a reply to: face23785
this is true. The Golan Heights will in fact be Israeli territory officially soon enough. My next governor is trying his best to make it so.

originally posted by: Freeborn
a reply to: face23785

'Our' messing with the region predates Saddam and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait by quite some time.

Personally I'm all for pulling out of the region and letting them get on with it....but that won't happen, too much money at stake.

It still demonstrates that they don't need us to do anything like that to have reason to want to kill us.

a reply to: face23785

Their religion is reason enough for them to want to kill us....as has been proven time and time again.

originally posted by: Freeborn
a reply to: face23785

Their religion is reason enough for them to want to kill us....as has been proven time and time again.

That was kinda my point. The notion that if we just "stop meddling in the region" they would leave us alone is fundamentally flawed.

In 2017 very few Tomahawk were shot down. In April 2018, about 70% were shot down.
Is the EU sure it wants to try again, to publically humiliate western military capabilities ?

originally posted by: Flanker86
In 2017 very few Tomahawk were shot down. In April 2018, about 70% were shot down.
Is the EU sure it wants to try again, to publically humiliate western military capabilities ?

They definitely seem to have rolled out better air defense technology. The Saudis seem to have the same system, because they've shot down several missiles the Houthis in Yemen have fired into Saudi Arabia.

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan
Everything is gearing up for the start of the Idlib offensive. Pretty sure Labor Day weekend will be the start of the next series of NATO member state air strikes against Damascus.


I am getting ready to start a thread to follow the offensive to retake Idlib. It is expected to be the heaviest fighting thus far, so I will be looking to update at least a couple times of week with content from the front lines on both sides as I did with Mosul and Raqqa.

I'll be curious to see how the Turkish troops fair. Turkey has serious financial troubles, plus I wonder just how committed the average Turkish soldier will be. It would be like if the US had sent troops to intervene in a Mexican civil war. I would bet the typical American soldier really wouldn't want to be there.

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan
Turkey has posts all around Idlib from their deal for cease fire zones last year. I remember reading that the FSA will join the operation , but on whos side I cannot remember. It was an FSA commander and only a few days ago. Most of Turkish regular forces are in Northern Syria parked along from Afrin to Manbij.

This could have been the real reason Turkey invaded Afrin. They had to maintain an uninterrupted fog of war zone with their own border to maintain plausible deniability of why arms and reinforcements continue to trickle into the battlefield.

Upcoming EU provocations in Syria for the coming weeks are doomed to failure !