THE COMMANDER of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Qassem Soleimani has been pictured with the pro-government Popular Mobilisation Units (Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi) in Northwestern Iraq on Monday.
AMN reported that the prominent Iranian general was advising the high command of the Popular Mobilisation Units during their important operation along the Syrian border-crossing. With the capture of ISIL’s last crossing in Nineveh province, the Popular Mobilisation Units will now turn their attention South towards the Takfiri terrorist group’s final stronghold on the Syrian border.
On Monday, Secretary General of Hashd al-Shaabi (Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces) Hadi al-Ameri announced that his forces deployed at the country’s borders with Syria, adding that the popular forces would soon launch an anti-ISIL cleansing operation along the border. Al-Ameri said that Hashd al-Shaabi fighters opened their way to Iraq’s border with Syria, adding that the forces deployed in the border village of Um Jaris.
‘We are now in this region (Um Jaris) that is a border-crossing with Syria,’ al-Ameri said, adding, ‘Cleansing operation at Iraq’s border with Syria from Um Jaris up to the town of al-Qa’em will be kicked off tomorrow.’
• The Syrian Army’s artillery and missile units targeted heavily ISIL’s concentration centres and movements in the outskirts of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, inflicting major losses on the terrorists. The artillery and missile units opened heavy fire at ISIL’s positions in Taloul al-Qar region, destroying four main positions of the terrorists and killing or wounding a number of them.
The artillery units also shelled heavily ISIL’s movements in the two neighbourhoods of al-Huweiqa and al-Omal and in the village of al-Baqaliyeh, inflicting a number of casualties on the militants. The army’s heavy fire also destroyed a position of ISIL around the Panorama base.
In relevant developments in the province on Monday, the artillery units pounded ISIL’s positions in areas near Deir Ezzor’s airbase, Panorama base, al-Tayem oilfield, west of Tal (hill) al-Sonouf, the villages of Baqaliyeh, Tal al-Mahrouqat in the village of Ayyash and around regiment 137 base, killing or wounding a large number of terrorists and destroying their military hardware and weapons.
In the meantime, the artillery units opened heavy fire at a convoy of ISIL’s vehicle on al-Sham road in Kaziyeh al-Azm region, destroying most of the vehicles and killing a large number of the terrorists.
Also, the army aircraft carried out repeated airstrikes against ISIL’s gathering centres in al-Maqaber (cemetery) region, Jonayd division base, Tamin brigade base and al-Makbat region in the southern outskirts of Deir Ezzor, inflicting major casualties on the terrorists.
• The Syrian Army troops equipped with the most modern military equipment and experienced commandos continued to score more victories against ISIL in the country’s eastern deserts in spite of the US Army warning on Monday, a military source said. The source said that the army troops, with the backing of the special forces, launched a fresh round of operations and cut off the entire supply lines from Palmyra to ISIL’s defence lines, hitting ISIL’s positions in eastern Homs from three directions, including the desert region and hills regardless of the US-led coalition’s warning of halting military operations in Southern Syria.
In the meantime, the army units made fresh advances in Qasr al-Hayereh al-Qarbi and the road to the town of Quaryatayn and managed to take control over key hills and positions, including Syriatel hill, paving the way to recapture the town of Bardeh. The source further said that the army utilised a number of special forces that had gone under desert-war trainings, adding that the army units were also equipped with modern military hardware.
The source went on to say that the army will continue the operation to restore sustainable security to Homs city and its nearby oilfields. In relevant developments in the province on Monday, the army troops and popular forces engaged in tough battle with ISIL in eastern Homs and managed to repel the terrorists’ attack, inflicting major casualties on them.
The army soldiers and Dar’a al-Qalamoun popular fighters engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL in Abu Qa’atour region 22km away from Jubb al-Jarrah up to areas near Kahleh battalion base and fended off their attack. The army men killed a number of terrorists and forced their remaining pockets to retreat from the battlefield.
Field sources reported on Monday that simultaneous with the rapid advances of the Syrian Army troops towards al-Tanf border-crossing the US-led coalition warplanes dropped thousands of leaflets over the army-controlled region calling on them to retreat from southern Syria.
The sources said following the Syrian army’s advances towards al-Tanf border-crossing and their arrival in al-Shahmi region along the Damascus-Baghdad highway, the US-led coalition warplanes dropped thousands of leaflets, warning the Syrian units deployed in positions 55km away from al-Tanf to pull their forces back towards Zaza region.
• The Syrian Army troops continued their anti-ISIL operation near the Jarah military airport in eastern Aleppo and managed to recapture more strategic regions, resulting in a full collapse of the terrorist front in the Southern part of the strategic airbase. The army soldiers managed to win back al-Wadhah al-Jneideh region after a series of bloody battle with the ISIL members.
Military sources said that the army’s control over al-Wadhah al-Jneideh region has restored full security to Jarah airbase. The army troops also continued their operation in eastern Aleppo, hitting the positions of the ISIL near its stronghold of Maskana.
As the Syrian soldiers took full control over the Maskana train station, they advanced toward the northern flank of the strategic town, pounding ISIL’s defence lines in Ras Al-Ayn village and its surroundings that eventually led to the capture of the village by the government troops.
Relevant reports said on Monday that the army units engaged in a tough battle with ISIL near Maskana and managed to take control over the villages of Ein Albu Maneh, al-Fasayeh, al-Qahera, al-Ja’abat and the 1st Farm, killing and wounding a number of terrorists. The army soldiers also pushed ISIL back from the sugar factory region.
A military source, meantime, reported that the army troops’ operation in the region is underway with heavy fire of the army’s artillery units and heavy raids of the Russian fighter jets, adding that a large number of ISIL fighters are leaving their positions in the battlefields for the town of Maskana.
• A prominent Lebanese analyst underlined that Hezbollah’s high missile power works as a deterrent against Israel’s plots to launch war against Lebanon. Although the recent meeting (between US President Donald Trump and Arab leaders) in Riyadh was an invitation to warmongering and pressure against Hezbollah, the Zionist regime is aware of Hezbollah’s missile power and believes that war would harm its interests under the current circumstances,’ Faisal Abdol Sattar said on Tuesday.
He also said that the Riyadh meeting was aimed at boosting the morale of the supporters of the US-Saudi pivot but it failed soon after disagreements between Saudi Arabia and Qatar emerged. In relevant remarks earlier this month, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said the Riyadh summit was held to systematise US theft of the Persian Gulf money and the group is ready to confront all outcomes of the summit.
Sheikh Qassem said that the negative attitude towards the axis of resistance aims at covering up the consequences of squandering the people’s fortunes and capabilities. The Riyadh Summit is a gathering of the helpless whose schemes in several areas in the region had been frustrated, rejecting to consider that the event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia managed to create new geopolitical conditions.
The Riyadh Summit may not surely lead to an Israeli war, according to him. Sheikh Qassem added that the resistance is ready to confront and defeat the aggressors.
