Russia asks for formal UN investigation of convoy attack.

 

"“I am confident that such coincidences require serious analysis and an investigation.”

On September 19, a humanitarian convoy consisting of 31 trucks was attacked while heading to Aleppo. According to the Red Cross, 20 civilians and one aid worker died as a result. Initial reports by the organization claimed the convoy had been targeted by an airstrike.

On Tuesday, the UN backtracked on its earlier claims that the convoy was hit by military planes.

"We are not in a position to determine whether these were in fact airstrikes. We are in a position to say that the convoy was attacked," UN humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke said.

Speaking on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria, Lavrov said that the Russia and US-backed plan included the creation of a demilitarized zone around the Castello Road near Aleppo. The minister added that while the Syrian government forces have started their withdrawal, the militants have not followed suit."  AMN

--------------

Pilgrims!  I don't know what you see in this photo of the convoy attack site but I do not see evidence of an air attack unless the air weapon was something very precise like an armed UAV.

There is no blast damage on the roadway itself.  There are no pieces of the exploded or unexploded ordnance itself.  The overhead power lines are uncut.  There does not seem to be damage to nearby structures.

What I see is a burned truck.  pl 

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/lavrov-russia-presented-evidence-aid-convoy-attack-now-wants-impartial-investigation/

Comments

[Lemur]

The UN said it heard about the attack while it was unfolding yet is unable to determine where the attack came from (land or or air). Which is fishy.

My guess is Al Nusra who was active in the area at the time did this and the White Helmets turned it into agitprop for the West.

[Fred]

Col.,

"What I see is a burned truck."

It is also conveniently parked at the side of the road.

[FkDahl]

What kind of explosion is this, in the first second of the video?
Does not look like your average HE. What kind of bomb or missile is it? Looks like metallic fragments burning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQnKEhHb4Iw

[Joe100]

The Colonel Cassad blog has many photos of the attacked convoy that may provide more insight into the weapons used to attack the convoy:

http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/?skip=10

RT is also reporting that:

"The Russian Defense Ministry says that a US coalition drone was in the vicinity of a humanitarian convoy when it was attacked outside Aleppo. According to the Russian military, the unmanned aircraft was a Predator drone":

https://www.rt.com/news/360165-us-drone-syria-russia/

[Hood Canal Gardner]

It doesn't matter does it? “....one can’t believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

[different clue]

On NPR news and then BBC news last night, I heard that this WAS an airstrike and most likely a RUSSIAN air strike. Both allegedly "public" news outlets made VERY SURE that we-the-audience knew ALL ABOUT the TWO SUKHOI JETS seen "in the area" at the same exact time as the AIR STRIKE HAPPENED.

And this morning " American accuses Russia and Russia furiously denies it" etc.\

This is a public audience mass-mind-molding operation for conflict, possibly war, with Russia. It is timed very conveniently to coincide with the "Russia hacks our Democracy" meme and the "Trump is Putin's agent" meme. Both these memes are being driven by the Clintonite Democratic Party and its Class Collaborators throughout the Big Media.

Many of us here have so far been finding Trump too distasteful to actually vote for even though we won't be voting for Clinton. But is it premature to begin wondering whether the Obamacrat Regime and its follow-on Clintonite-Regime-in-waiting pose such a clear and present danger of the outbreak of serious war that we ought to consider discussing the possibility that perhaps we should all vote for Trump just to make very sure that Her Imperial Borgess and all her little henchcreeps cannot get their big gracefully-long-fingered hands anywhere near the "button"?

[David Lentini]

The following report echo's the Colonel's observations and adds more details.

Also, FWIW, an FB correspondent of mine claims that she spoke to relatives in Aleppo who claim they saw no attack.

[Laguerre]

The question is: can it be used to take the US to a no-fly zone, and thus to war. In my view, it has turned out to be too weak. Whatever the desires, they need something better to justify bombing the sh*t out of the Syrians.

[Former 11B]

You nailed my thinking on it. I hit that point a while ago however. It gets clearer to me every day that is the only option.

[Nick Smith]

To see the US walking back on this, after Power jumped at a primetime chance to lecture them, and right on the heels of the airstrikes the US made "by mistake"... Putin & co have got to be fuming, they've done this kind of JV bs in the past and he takes it as personally insulting.

Not an area I know but is there any significance to their carrier departing to the Med? From this it looks like mostly a gesture:

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russias-only-aircraft-carrier-headed-syria-suffers-one-big-17756

[Ghostship]

Someone elsewhere suggested a AGM-114N Hellfire II which has a metal augmented charge warhead.

[Ghostship]

There is video footage of the convoy unloading before sunset - this was taken by one of the drones the Russians set up to allow live monitoring of the ceasefire on YouTube so it's possible they don't know what they have. Go 58 minutes in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egwLxk-ypKk
It looks like they set it up by pointing a webcam at a monitor showing the output from the drone so the quality's not great. This shows that the warehouse is located here:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@36.1515516,36.9677753,263m/data=!3m1!1e3

[turcopolier]

ghostship

Do the Russians have Hellfire missiles? pl

[asx]

There is no more shock value to these incidents, staged or otherwise. We are all numb after endless war. The outrage expressed by one side or another is just part of a manufactured PR system. I am puzzled they missed placing a child near the truck as a prop. The UN just a hs debate stage for the wonks. In a war we have no business to be in, what is a good strike versus a bad one?

Our men and women are no longer fighting for the stars and stripes. They have been turned mercenaries for our so called allies in exchange for donations to our political class. 'Where is Aleppo' should be the definition of sanity. Sorry, I am tired.

[Eliot]

Col. Lang,

John McCreary had a field day with this in his nightly bulletin.

"For us, the most interesting and important points of the denial defense are the way the Russians made a case for a totally different explanation for the damage. They not only denied the US accusations, they raised questions about the competence of US intelligence by implying that it missed the real cause of the damage – a ground action initiated by the al Nusra Front terrorists."

Best,

Eliot

[Dr. George W. Oprisko]

http://theduran.com/sergey-lavrov-calls-americas-bluff-russia-wants-full-impartial-investigation-aleppo-un-convoy-attack/

Umm al Kubra is a rebel held village near Idlib..... The entire pre-war population of 5,000 was either exterminated, or fled. Only jihadists are there at this time.
This locale has been the site of many propaganda pieces including those purporting to show children killed/wounded by the SAA.

The convoy in question was bannered "UNICEF" and the trucks were different, too.
As the Russians have said, the only evidence visible in the photos is that of burned trucks. There is no evidence of high explosive detonation eg: from bomb, missile, shell.

The timing could not have been more convenient, could it.. shortly after the US/NATO got caught with it's pants down over the Der El Azzor attack...
What I don't understand is why the 6+1 (Syria, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Hezbollah) don't impose a "No Fly Zone" over Syria for all aircraft other than those explicitly following agreed mission profiles.
I also don't understand why the Syrians allow humanitarian convoys of any kind other than those they operate.
I also don't understand why the Syrians don't tell the US/NATO to their face that the SAA is out to kill all the Whabbists...... and starving them to death is as good a way to achieve this as any........

INDY

[Dr. George W. Oprisko]

Umm al Kubra is a rebel held village near Idlib..... The entire pre-war population of 5,000 was either exterminated, or fled. Only jihadists are there at this time.
This locale has been the site of many propaganda pieces including those purporting to show children killed/wounded by the SAA.

The convoy in question was bannered "UNICEF" and the trucks were different, too.
As the Russians have said, the only evidence visible in the photos is that of burned trucks. There is no evidence of high explosive detonation eg: from bomb, missile, shell.

The timing could not have been more convenient, could it.. shortly after the US/NATO got caught with it's pants down over the Der El Azzor attack...
What I don't understand is why the 6+1 (Syria, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Hezbollah) don't impose a "No Fly Zone" over Syria for all aircraft other than those explicitly following agreed mission profiles.
I also don't understand why the Syrians allow humanitarian convoys of any kind other than those they operate.
I also don't understand why the Syrians don't tell the US/NATO to their face that the SAA is out to kill all the Whabbists...... and starving them to death is as good a way to achieve this as any........

INDY

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Your comment is reassuring. The first thing I thought was that this was a revenge on white trucks by Nice policemen. And now, instead of feeling like an idiot, I'm feeling rather royal.

Then again, making jokes when Col. Lang is with the black panther's mood is even more idiotic than thinking about Nice policemen and white trucks. I guess I'm hopeless. Royally hopeless, that is.

[Ghostship]

Probably not in terms of a precision guided weapon that can be fired from a UAV.
The closest equivalent is probably the 9M120F Ataka which uses a thermobaric warhead. The person who made the comment elsewhere pointed out that Russian thermobaric weapons don't use fine metal particles so there was no sparkle effect. The Ataka can be launched from the M-28 Havoc attack helicopter but as yet the Russians appear to have no attack drones like the Predator or Reaper.

[J]

Colonel,

Seems the boys at CIA are having a bit of problems with their shippments8 to their Jihadi buddies

Jordanian Intelligence stole and sold on black market weapons shipped to Syria rebels by CIA
http://yalibnan.com/2016/06/27/jordanian-intelligence-stole-and-sold-on-black-market-weapons-shipped-to-syria-rebels-by-cia/

[Liza]

The Russian MoD has released this video, which it maintains is an off-road vehicle equipped with a large-caliber mortar launcher.

https://m.sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160920/1045521488/aleppo-un-convoy.html

[BraveNewWorld]

The BS out behind the barn isn't stacked as high as this story's.

But I think my favourite is that thy could clearly see a barrel bomb being pushed out the back of a helicopter in the middle of the night. Are the white helmets now equipped with night vision goggles? Even if they were? This story doesn't pass the smell test any more than that pile out behind the barn.

[Jack]

DC and 11B

I'm exactly where you guys are. There may be no option but vote for Trump. The Borg Queen will only escalate what Obummer is doing right now with the agitprop. A very dangerous trajectory is being pursued by the Borg.

[ThomasG]

The AT-16 is the closest that they have, but only the KA-52 uses it.

[Nathan Stroupe]

The BORG has spoken - Kerry calls for no fly zone
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/21/syria-un-aid-airstrike-russia-boris-johnson