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Syrian Civil War (Graphic Photos/Vid Not Allowed)

Coalition airstrike on Til Shaer hill which was captured by IS earlier today.

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Breaking: Morek Under Syrian Arab Army Fire Control

By Leith Fadel on October 23, 2014 Middle East
The Syrian Arab Army’s 11th Tank Division has captured the imperative city of Morek in the Hama Governorate, after almost 3 months of violent firefights and besiegement. Fighting is still being reported on the outskirts of the city; however, an SAA military source has stated that the city itself is under complete control of the SAA. The source also added that Liwaa Suqour Al-Sham (Falcons of the Levant Brigade) began their withdrawal from the city earlier this week due to the loss of the integral road to Khan Sheikhoun.

The Tiger Forces under the command of Col. Soheil Al-Hassan and Sgt. Lu’ayy Sleitan has cleared most of Al-Lataminah – the village just south of Morek. Jabhat Al-Nusra forces will now have to rely on their comrades in the city of Kafr Zita to hold their positions or else they will face encirclement by the National Defense Forces (NDF) and the SAA. The loss of Al-Lataminah will further the plight of the Islamic Front fighters entrenched in Kafr Zita.
 
Glitzy mall sparks anger from Assad backers | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

BEIRUT: Even for some of the Syrian regime’s staunchest supporters, this month’s launch of a glitzy new shopping mall and tourism projects seems to have been a step too far. With large parts of the country ravaged by fighting and hundreds dying every week, the $50 million projects in the pro-regime coastal stronghold of Tartous have sparked criticism from supporters of President Bashar Assad.

It follows a series of unusual public expressions of frustration from regime supporters after the loss of hundreds of soldiers to the radical group ISIS and a bomb attack that left nearly 50 children dead in the central city of Homs.

The mall, which was opened by Prime Minister Wael Halqi on Oct. 9, includes “seven restaurants, a playroom for children and shops,” a government press release boasted, announcing additional “tourism projects” in the city.

The project is a private investment, but has clear regime backing and has caused outrage in online media.

“Ten billion Syrian pounds spent on a mall while injured soldiers are paying for surgery from their own pockets and eating nothing but potatoes and bread,” wrote one regime supporter on Twitter. “Sixty percent of the population of Tartous won’t be able to afford to shop there,” wrote another on Facebook.

Even someone who stands to benefit from the project – a tourism sector employee in Tartous who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity – admitted it had caused some resentment.

The projects “ignore the feelings of the families of many soldiers from this province who have died,” the employee said.

Tartous has been spared the worst of Syria’s civil war, which has killed nearly 200,000 people and forced 9 million more from their homes.

Tartous and fellow coastal province Latakia are strongholds of Assad and the Alawite minority sect to which he belongs.

While not itself ravaged by fighting, more soldiers from Tartous have been killed in the conflict than from any other province in Syria. The regime has long regarded its coastal strongholds as deep reservoirs for recruiting to the army and pro-regime militias.

Faith in Assad himself appears unshaken, but the rumblings have been growing and the shopping mall has become a focal point of criticism.

“The mall has opened and the families of the martyrs can take photos ... and the injured can benefit from sales on prostheses. Long live the nation!” read one ironic rant on a Facebook page called “The Forgotten Province of Tartous.”

The Syria Report website, which focuses on Syria’s economy, said there had been an “outcry from regime supporters” after the announcement.

“Although Tartous Mall is a private investment, ventures of that scale in Syria cannot take place without the backing of a regime official and are therefore perceived as being a source of enrichment for regime officials,” the site said.

Jihad Yazigi, director of the Syria Report, said the government’s decision to move forward with the projects was part of a long-term approach.

“The regime is trying to show through these projects that ‘everything is fine,’ that the situation is under control,” Yazigi told AFP.

“That’s been its policy for three-and-a-half years” since Syria’s conflict began in March 2011, he said.

Yazigi said Tartous had become a target for investors because its relative calm had attracted an influx of Syrians displaced from war-ravaged provinces like Aleppo and Idlib.

But what the city’s newcomers and residents seem to want most is an end to the bloodshed, and Yazigi said Assad backers had become increasingly angry about government decisions after the fall of several army bases to ISIS jihadists.

In August, ISIS seized the army’s last base in northern Raqqa province, killing an estimated 200 soldiers.

Grisly photos of mass executions and beheadings of troops at the Tabqa base have raised the ire of government supporters who felt the impending jihadist advance could have been anticipated and perhaps even prevented.

Pro-regime activists expressed anger online, and some even sought to organize demonstrations against the defense minister, Gen. Fahd al-Freij. In September, five of those involved in the criticism were arrested.

Further outrage from ordinarily pro-regime residents was sparked by a devastating Oct. 1 bomb attack in central Homs against a school in an Alawite neighborhood.

Relatives of nearly 50 children killed in the attack called openly for the resignation of the provincial governor in rare public demonstrations.

The criticism has so far not extended to Assad himself, but marks a rare crack in the regime’s bulwark of support.

“People don’t criticize Bashar Assad, either because they are afraid or because he is still for them their only option,” directing their anger instead at lower-level officials, Yazigi said.

“After all this criticism, I think in the future the regime will think twice before getting involved in new projects.”

Glitzy mall sparks anger from Assad backers | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR
 

5 JDAM plus fuel cost (125k to 150k USD) to destroy one flag and 2 IS fighters.
 
Harakat Hazm - TOW attack on regime tank in Sheikh Yusuf, Aleppo.


Harakat Hazm - TOW attack (x2) on regime tank in Morek.

 
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Hama Battle Map Update: Syrian Army Captures Tal Itmeen

By Leith Fadel on October 23, 2014 Middle East
Following the loss of Morek, the militants from Liwaa Al-Suqour Al-Sham (Falcons of the Levant Brigade) retreated southwest to Tal Itmeen, where they were confronted by a contingent from the National Defense Forces (NDF) and the Syrian Arab Army’s 11th Tank Division. The 11th Division was able to push through the rugged terrain and secure the hill around 4 P.M. Damascus Time. According to a military source, militants from Liwaa Suqour Al-Sham are attempting to regroup and counter the SAA’s success; however, it is unlikely that they will be able to hill.

The one week long (Morek was previously besieged for months) military operation led by the 11th Tank Division netted over 200 Islamic Front causalities, including 4 field commanders (2 from Liwaa Suqour Al-Sham) at the city of Morek in the Hama Governorate. The SAA suffered 27 casualties (unconfirmed), while the NDF lost 32 men (unconfirmed) during this operation.
 

5 JDAM plus fuel cost (125k to 150k USD) to destroy one flag and 2 IS fighters.

Watch the video, there are more than 2 and most likely munitions, positions etc.


Its a show of force really, join ISIS and you may get blown up by an explosion that you guys can only make when you sacrifice yourself to the heavens.
 
Foreign ISIL Militant Passports Have Turkish Govt Exit Stamps
Sky News reporter on the Syrian-Turkish border, Stuart Ramsay, obtained from Kurdish fighters in the Syrian city of Ayn al-Arab some passports belonging to foreign militants from the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIL or ISIS). All those passports had the official exit stamp from the Turkish border control, indicating that these ISIL militants entered Syria with the full knowledge of the Turkish authorities and their facilitation.

 
Syrian army liberated Morek town in Hama countryside
English Subtitle: The Syrian army regained control of Morek town in the northern countryside of Hama. The army units combed the area in conjunction with artillery shelling on the towns of Kafr Zita and Al-Lataminah.
According to Al Mayadeen correspondent, the withdrawal of gunmen from the "Sham Legion" which belongs to the Free Army came after the withdrawal of most of the armed factions from Morek in the recent period, most notably the "Hazzm" Movement.


 
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