"Iran backs Syria's battle for Aleppo with proxies, ground troops" S & S

"Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's elite Quds Force, has ordered thousands of Iraqi Shiite militia allies into Syria for the operation to recapture Aleppo, according to officials from three of the militias. The militiamen are to join Iranian troops and forces from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia, the officials said.

Soleimani has been a frequent sight on the battlefields in neighboring Iraq, where he has been advising Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State militants. But the war there has stagnated, and the shift of the commander along with Iraqi militiamen and Quds Force members to Syria appears to signal a change in Iranian priorities.

The battle for Sunni-majority Aleppo, announced Friday by Syria, is important because of the city's size and prominence as an economic hub before the outbreak of Syria's civil war. Its eastern side has been held by rebels since 2012.

Russia is also involved in the fight for the city, launching airstrikes in the vicinity to support Assad's forces."  Stars and Stripes

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Before someone brings it up I will acknowledge that "Stars and Stripes" is the newspaper of the of the US Armed Forces.  It is run as a real newspaper and does good work. 

In this article S&S does a creditable job of summing up the forces arrayed against the jihadi/unicorn/obamanite forces defending their claim to NW Syria.

The article notes that Aleppo is a "Sunni majority city."  So what!  Many Syrian Sunnis support the government against the jihadi/unicorn/obamanites.

My criticism of this article would be that it is strangely silent on the subject of the Syrian Army and Syrian Air Force as well as the essential assistance being provided by Russia.

I have been trying to understand WHO is in command in the R+5 coalition effort.  Perhaps it is Soleimani? 

Unity of Command is a basic principle of war.  Successful military efforts are not created by committee.  pl

 

http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/iran-backs-syria-s-battle-for-aleppo-with-proxies-ground-troops-1.374058

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_and_Stripes_(newspaper)

Comments

[Tyler]

Sir,

Seems like rapes, assaults, and other violent crimes are up wherever they go with their iPhones taking selfies of their arrival in Europe. Doesn't look like they're trying to escape war as much as looking for all the gimmedats the Europeans can provide.

[Tyler]

Will,

IIRC it was actually fire departments that laid the groundwork for NIMS. Its a good system that's worked well the few times I've had to active it.

[Ulenspiegel]

"So while I'm not sure where the discrepancy between observable facts at train stations (almost all yung men) and official statistics (young men only 50% of asylum seekers) come from"

Maybe, you observable facts are not that hard. During the last weeks I have used trains between Vienna and Hannover twice, they were mostly occupied by whole Syrian families, the Syrians leaving the train in Hannover were families. The Syrians still waiting in the new Vienna mainstation were often families too, with an higher percentage of young men of course (my guestimate 1/3), therefore, the official numbers are not so bad IMHO.

IIRC for 2014 and first months of 2015 many of the refugees were Christians and Alawites, so I do not see an only opposition issue, the government loses too.