New ISIS offensive on Palmyra proves terrorists should not be given chance to regroup – Russian MoD

[airmarshal]

New ISIS offensive on Palmyra proves terrorists should not be given chance to regroup – Russian MoD
Published time: 12 Dec, 2016 14:17Edited time: 12 Dec, 2016 20:48
Get short URL
FILE PHOTO. © Omar Sanadiki / Reuters
AddThis Sharing Buttons
Share to Facebook1.8KShare to TwitterShare to Reddit26Share to StumbleUponShare to Google+Share to Tumblr
Islamic State militants used a break in the US-led coalition’s advance against them to launch offensive in Palmyra, while counting on the fact that Russia will not conduct airstrikes on residential areas, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The setback shows that terrorists should not be given the opportunity to regroup.
“Seizing on the suspension of active military action near Al-Raqqah till spring by the US and international coalition, Islamic State devoted considerable forces to storm Palmyra,” the ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said on Monday.

Konashenkov said that Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists knew that the Russian Air Force would not conduct airstrikes in Palmyra’s residential areas, and “used that to reinforce their attacks.”

After arriving “unhampered” in Deir ez-Zor and Al-Raqqah, Syria, from Mosul, Iraq, some 4,000 terrorists armed with heavy weapons moved quickly on Palmyra in tanks and armored vehicles, the defense ministry said.

Over the past couple of days, jihadists have attacked Syrian forces near Palmyra several times, Russia’s military official said, adding that the offensive had been launched from the north, east, and south.

During the night, IS fighters deployed cars stuffed with explosives and suicide-bombers to break through the Syrian army’s defenses and managed to dig in in Palmyra’s outskirts, the Russian ministry said in its statement.

Read more
‘Decamped from Mosul ISIS fighters in Syria perfect for US narrative’
“More than 5,000 militants in total took part in the offensive,” Konashenkov said, stressing that there had not been so many IS fighters near Palmyra until last Thursday.

“It is obvious that the terrorists concentrated near Palmyra were sure that the military action [against them] in Al-Raqqah would not renew,” he said, while observing the situation in Palmyra shows that no “break” should be ever given to IS fighters, as they “use it to regroup and strike unexpectedly.”

The latest terrorist offensive in Palmyra may have been "orchestrated" to distract forces from militants in eastern Aleppo, who are entrenched there and are threatening civilians, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

READ MORE: ISIS offensive on Palmyra could be orchestrated to give respite to militants in Aleppo – Lavrov

Lavrov said the IS fighters appear to have come to Palmyra from Mosul, where the offensive against them has intensified, and that they have apparently moved through routes "patrolled" by the US-led coalition's aviation, which "makes one think that the whole [situation] has been orchestrated." "I hope I'm wrong," Lavrov added, however.

"What is actually interesting is that the American-led coalition, which has very powerful surveillance tools, apparently failed to pick up 4,000 ISIS jihadists making their way to Palmyra with all their equipment, trucks and everything," former UK ambassador to Syria Peter Ford told RT, adding that Washington and its allies "didn't lift a finger to try to stop [the IS offensive] happening."

"I don't think you have to be a genius to work out that there are plans afoot to decamp the ISIS rebels from Mosul into eastern Syria, and this will play into the American narrative that Assad can't control the countryside in Syria and that he's not a good ally in the fight against ISIS," Ford said. He added that "the opposite is the case," as once thousands of the Syrian government forces currently engaged in Aleppo "are released from those duties," they can turn their attention to fighting Islamic State in Palmyra.

READ MORE: Russian & Syrian actions in Palmyra a 'service to mankind' – former US ambassador to RT

“I think that this obviously signifies just how fluid and precarious the situation still is throughout the whole of Syria. And five years into this extraordinary civil war with the huge amount of human misery and casualties that are still being perpetuated as a result of ISIS and other terrorist organizations, really leads me and an increasing number of people in the West to be calling more urgently on our own governments to negotiate with the Russians, to try to work together more collaboratively to understand the extent of the threat coming from ISIS and to try to do whatever possible to eliminate this threat,” British MP Daniel Kawczynski, who is a member of the UK’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee, told RT.

https://www.rt.com/news/370019-isis-palmyra-new-offensive/

 

[airmarshal]

As the war in Middle East prolongs, its becoming clearer USA is actually the handler of ISIS.

 

[SQ8]

As the war in Middle East prolongs, its becoming clearer USA is actually the handler of ISIS.

Why is it the US? Why are all ills related to the US?
Are we so sure that there are no other vested interests in the region?.

 

[f1000n]

IS was left alone for months in Syria, no pressure whatsoever. They are only pressured constantly in IRaq

 

[YeBeWarned]

Why is it the US? Why are all ills related to the US?
Are we so sure that there are no other vested interests in the region?.

Who do you think is behind the ME terrorism , besides the Fractions who are fighting together .. who else have big stakes in ME except for US and its ME allies .. I saw in BBC Documentary on Iraq war and American General (ex) if i remember Correctly he accepted how US Exploit the Difference of Shia and Sunni in Iraq to Fight the AQ .. If i not wrong it was the Mehndi Army Lead by Muqtadar Al Sadr who later turn Against the US and than US fight him ..
how can one even deny that US did back rebels and Armed them to keep its interests alive .. Of course everyone does that but you really think its just easy explanation to sit back in Pentagon and watch people die ?

 

[SQ8]

Who do you think is behind the ME terrorism , besides the Fractions who are fighting together .. who else have big stakes in ME except for US and its ME allies .. I saw in BBC Documentary on Iraq war and American General (ex) if i remember Correctly he accepted how US Exploit the Difference of Shia and Sunni in Iraq to Fight the AQ .. If i not wrong it was the Mehndi Army Lead by Muqtadar Al Sadr who later turn Against the US and than US fight him ..
how can one even deny that US did back rebels and Armed them to keep its interests alive .. Of course everyone does that but you really think its just easy explanation to sit back in Pentagon and watch people die ?

Lets see, starting with the 79 revolution and the beginning of Arab-Persian rivalry during the Iran-Iraq war.. both the Iranians and the Arabs have been at each other's throats with proxies. ISIS did not just appear because the US wished for it, the ideology for it came from already existing quarters.

Or did the TTP also appear out of nowhere or the US made it.

The US exploits pre-existing assets on the ground for its uses but even those it bumbles about with.

 

[airmarshal]

Why is it the US? Why are all ills related to the US?
Are we so sure that there are no other vested interests in the region?.

https://www.rt.com/news/370019-isis-palmyra-new-offensive/

 

[Anaoshak]

Lets see, starting with the 79 revolution and the beginning of Arab-Persian rivalry during the Iran-Iraq war.. both the Iranians and the Arabs have been at each other's throats with proxies. ISIS did not just appear because the US wished for it, the ideology for it came from already existing quarters.

Or did the TTP also appear out of nowhere or the US made it.

The US exploits pre-existing assets on the ground for its uses but even those it bumbles about with.

I'm gonna have to disagree with this.

You're right that the height of Arab-Persian rivalry started during the Iran-Iraq war. Bear in mind though that Iraq started it, and almost every single Arab state supported them with the exception of Syria and Oman(they are the only ones that come to mind right now) and the Arab states showered Iraq with money and weapons. Even when Iraq used Chemical weapons, hell the Americans themselves gave the Iraqis coordinates on where to strike because the Iraqis were about to lose the war. (The Declassified CIA files from 2013 verified this even though it was suspected to be the case for a long time.) Obviously, without the help, Iraq would have fallen and the Americans couldn't have that.

Anyway, back to the Topic....You're right TTP and ISIS did not come out of nowhere but no, It wasn't Iran or the US that laid the foundation of the ideology....Let me quote something that will sound very similar to things that are happening in the middle east today,
"12,000 Wahhabis suddenly attacked the mosque of Imam Husayn; after seizing more spoils than they had ever seized after their greatest victories, they put everything to fire and sword…The elderly, women, and children—everybody died by the barbarians’ sword. Besides, it is said that whenever they saw a pregnant woman, they disembowelled her and left the fetus on the mother’s bleeding corpse. Their cruelty could not be satisfied, they did not cease their murders and blood flowed like water. As a result of the bloody catastrophe, more than 4000 people perished. The Wahhabis carried off their plunder on the backs of 4000 camels. After the plunder and murders they destroyed the Imam’s shrine and converted it into a trench of abomination and blood. They inflicted the greatest damage on the minarets and the domes, believing those structures were made of gold bricks.” That was the account by the author, Rousseau. Another source, from Uthman b. Abd Allah b. Bishr whom himself was a Wahhabi and gave the Wahhabi perspective, gives a similar account.

Now this happened 177 years before the Iranian Revolution, on 21st April 1802.

Why is this relevant? Because the same people that did the Attack in 1802, who did the killing,theft and rape on that day, today runs the country of Saudi Arabia, The House of Saud and House of the Sheikh(Al ash-Sheikh). This is just one of many examples, other examples are how they demolish holy sites, and notice the resemblance to how the attack is very similar to how ISIS and other Fanatic groups operate. It's because the Saudis have been spewing their ideology in all the mosques around the world that they have funded since they got their oil riches, all the way from the east to the west of the world. And that is the only reason there are groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, TPP, Nusra, Zinki, Ahrar Al Sham and etc. And the biggest reason to why the worldwide image of Islam is in such a negative state today.

 

[500]

What a pathetic lying excuses from bunch of clowns.

New ISIS offensive on Palmyra proves terrorists should not be given chance to regroup – Russian MoD

Then may be u should bomb ISIS instead of bombing towns in Aleppo and Idlib?

After arriving “unhampered” in Deir ez-Zor and Al-Raqqah, Syria, from Mosul, Iraq, some 4,000 terrorists armed with heavy weapons moved quickly on Palmyra in tanks and armored vehicles, the defense ministry said.

4000 moved through open desert and your super duper air force could not do anything?

Konashenkov said that Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists knew that the Russian Air Force would not conduct airstrikes in Palmyra’s residential areas, and “used that to reinforce their attacks.”

You drop incendiary cluster bombs on populated towns, but refrain from bombing empty Palmyra? Really?

 

[ptldM3]

What a pathetic lying excuses from bunch of clowns.


Then may be u should bomb ISIS instead of bombing towns in Aleppo and Idlib?


4000 moved through open desert and your super duper air force could not do anything?


You drop incendiary cluster bombs on populated towns, but refrain from bombing empty Palmyra? Really?

You call people clowns but are the biggest. Russian aircraft have not bombed Aleppo since October. You just like to talk a lot, you always have to throw insults at Russia no matter how idiotic they may be. It's been established that to you facts arnt important, you just make your own facts up.


As for the insult at the Russian Air Force not attacking Isis around Palmyra. That's false, they did. The problem is that there was thick fog when Isis attacked Palmyra. This is not a video game like you make it out to be, if it was that easy the US and its coalition would have destroyed Isis long ago, so instead of hurling insults at Russia why did not the US coalition destroy Isis around Palmyra? Why has Isis not been destroyed by coalition air power in Iraq? Isis disguises themselves amongst civilians and as civilians so it's not always easy to spot them especially when they operate at night or in thick fog.

I don't recall the Israeli Air Force in 2006 performing any miracles esspecially when Hezballah kept ambushing Israeli armor in plain daylight under perfect weather conditions.

 

[500]

You call people clowns but are the biggest. Russian aircraft have not bombed Aleppo since October. You just like to talk a lot, you always have to throw insults at Russia no matter how idiotic they may be. It's been established that to you facts arnt important, you just make your own facts up.

I just dont like BS. When they claim that they dont attack EMPTY Palmyra because there are residential neighborhoods and in same time they drop incendiary clusters on POPULATED towns and villages, thats total crap propaganda for retards.

 

[airmarshal]

Lets see, starting with the 79 revolution and the beginning of Arab-Persian rivalry during the Iran-Iraq war.. both the Iranians and the Arabs have been at each other's throats with proxies. ISIS did not just appear because the US wished for it, the ideology for it came from already existing quarters.

Or did the TTP also appear out of nowhere or the US made it.

The US exploits pre-existing assets on the ground for its uses but even those it bumbles about with.

Havent you seen WikiLeaks from 2005/06 where the US embassy in Damascus was cabling methods and proposals for regime change in Syria? Dont be more American than Americans.

There are pre existing situation in every country and in every society. It does not mean you can begin exploiting them. ISIS was left alone in Syria. For a terror network, it has exceptional resources and military training. Before Russia jumped in, ISIS was making quite a lot of money selling oil. This is a fact.

Its a good thing however, foreign backed terrorists are defeated in Aleppo.

 

[YeBeWarned]

Lets see, starting with the 79 revolution and the beginning of Arab-Persian rivalry during the Iran-Iraq war.. both the Iranians and the Arabs have been at each other's throats with proxies. ISIS did not just appear because the US wished for it, the ideology for it came from already existing quarters.

Or did the TTP also appear out of nowhere or the US made it.

The US exploits pre-existing assets on the ground for its uses but even those it bumbles about with.

Sir you did not Answer or give any reasonable explanation for my Questions ??
Why US accept arming the rebels , Shia Against Sunni And Suuni against Shia .. ? does it really matter if Shia and Sunni have preexisting Conflicts but who is US to arm and Support the other in order to destroy many countries just to bring the person they want in power ?
I thought Iraq would have been the Learning point that how US F'd up everything based on a false and Lie to invade and effects of it are still spreading it effects in region ..

let me ask another question , why on Earth US release the Bhagdadi ? there are Iraqi detainees in Guantanamo bay jail who are there for decades , and many of them did not even have privilege to get a Trail yet they release Bhagdadi and guess what ? he today is leading ISIS ..

 

[SQ8]

Sir you did not Answer or give any reasonable explanation for my Questions ??
Why US accept arming the rebels , Shia Against Sunni And Suuni against Shia .. ? does it really matter if Shia and Sunni have preexisting Conflicts but who is US to arm and Support the other in order to destroy many countries just to bring the person they want in power ?
I thought Iraq would have been the Learning point that how US F'd up everything based on a false and Lie to invade and effects of it are still spreading it effects in region ..

let me ask another question , why on Earth US release the Bhagdadi ? there are Iraqi detainees in Guantanamo bay jail who are there for decades , and many of them did not even have privilege to get a Trail yet they release Bhagdadi and guess what ? he today is leading ISIS ..

You are basically moving in circles on issues for which there is clear explanation.
The US did not start arming any rebels, the GCC did. The US only worked with their intelligence agencies in the initial phases. What do you think Syria represents in the middle east? Alawalites? Nobody gives a hoot on whether they go Bismillah or Bismilli; the focus was the Syria represents a key Iranian Ally and ipso facto a Russian ally.
The Chinese too were entering the sphere via Iraq and leading to a loss of US influence which is wanted to maintain in a country which it had invaded for the very purpose of controlling the oil flow.

AQ Ir and the extremist elements within Iraq also act against the US to ensure that the Americans dont leave that easily and continue to provide a bulwark against Iran. Once the Americans left, there was a need to ensure the Iraqis did not have a stable government that could take independent decisions..that is where the ISIS gambit started forming.
This isnt one force against the other, this is the result of US interests clashing with Iranian interests which merge with Russian interests that clash with GCC interests which merge with US interests which clash with Saudi interests which merge with Chinese interests and so on.

Shia? Sunni? Who the hell cares? This is not a black and white situation.
There is no creating of a fight between Shia and Sunni because both technically cant stand each other in a political spectrum. Shia Sunni did not emerge overnight, the subcontinent has had Shia Sunni clashes because the Shia believe in quiet that Sunnis are Kafir and vice versa. It goes on and on.

All the US does is see where it can use these divisions for its interests and even that "control" is as tight as you might have on a paper bag floating in high winds.

I'm gonna have to disagree with this.

You're right that the height of Arab-Persian rivalry started during the Iran-Iraq war. Bear in mind though that Iraq started it, and almost every single Arab state supported them with the exception of Syria and Oman(they are the only ones that come to mind right now) and the Arab states showered Iraq with money and weapons. Even when Iraq used Chemical weapons, hell the Americans themselves gave the Iraqis coordinates on where to strike because the Iraqis were about to lose the war. (The Declassified CIA files from 2013 verified this even though it was suspected to be the case for a long time.) Obviously, without the help, Iraq would have fallen and the Americans couldn't have that.

Anyway, back to the Topic....You're right TTP and ISIS did not come out of nowhere but no, It wasn't Iran or the US that laid the foundation of the ideology....Let me quote something that will sound very similar to things that are happening in the middle east today,
"12,000 Wahhabis suddenly attacked the mosque of Imam Husayn; after seizing more spoils than they had ever seized after their greatest victories, they put everything to fire and sword…The elderly, women, and children—everybody died by the barbarians’ sword. Besides, it is said that whenever they saw a pregnant woman, they disembowelled her and left the fetus on the mother’s bleeding corpse. Their cruelty could not be satisfied, they did not cease their murders and blood flowed like water. As a result of the bloody catastrophe, more than 4000 people perished. The Wahhabis carried off their plunder on the backs of 4000 camels. After the plunder and murders they destroyed the Imam’s shrine and converted it into a trench of abomination and blood. They inflicted the greatest damage on the minarets and the domes, believing those structures were made of gold bricks.” That was the account by the author, Rousseau. Another source, from Uthman b. Abd Allah b. Bishr whom himself was a Wahhabi and gave the Wahhabi perspective, gives a similar account.

Now this happened 177 years before the Iranian Revolution, on 21st April 1802.

Why is this relevant? Because the same people that did the Attack in 1802, who did the killing,theft and rape on that day, today runs the country of Saudi Arabia, The House of Saud and House of the Sheikh(Al ash-Sheikh). This is just one of many examples, other examples are how they demolish holy sites, and notice the resemblance to how the attack is very similar to how ISIS and other Fanatic groups operate. It's because the Saudis have been spewing their ideology in all the mosques around the world that they have funded since they got their oil riches, all the way from the east to the west of the world. And that is the only reason there are groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, TPP, Nusra, Zinki, Ahrar Al Sham and etc. And the biggest reason to why the worldwide image of Islam is in such a negative state today.

Read my post above. That is your perception, there is a perception also of how Shia dont consider Sunnis Muslims. All these perceptions matter to their respective sides, neither is completely wrong or completely correct.

 

[YeBeWarned]

You are basically moving in circles on issues for which there is clear explanation.

Actually there is no Clear Explanation on anything , what is happening in ME or even rest of the world .. ( Conspiracy theories put aside ) ..

The US did not start arming any rebels, the GCC did. The US only worked with their intelligence agencies in the initial phases. What do you think Syria represents in the middle east? Alawalites? Nobody gives a hoot on whether they go Bismillah or Bismilli; the focus was the Syria represents a key Iranian Ally and ipso facto a Russian ally.
The Chinese too were entering the sphere via Iraq and leading to a loss of US influence which is wanted to maintain in a country which it had invaded for the very purpose of controlling the oil flow.

Actually they they did , US has a History of Arming the Rebels and supporting any Rebellion which serves their Interest , you can trace US sorcery back to the Czechoslovakia times .. and i have to Disagree with you here again that , US did enter the ME over the night based on false report of Iraq having WMD's , so i doubt the US did any work with the ME Intel agencies to locate the WMD's which never existed ..I don't think anything that Syria represents except Humanity .. i won't Disagree that those Arabs will not even think twice to kill each other based on their sectarian differences but that makes US an Opportunist which exploit the Division for his own interest and does not even give a S**t about how many people they have to kill in the process ? ..
well lets not bring China there? cause we are not Seeing them bombing ISIS yet sending all sort of Military and air equipment to Rebels in Allepo.. US and its own people have on record saying that how we Armed the Rebels , like they did with Afghan Talibans .. ( but lets not go there )
the this entire WAR is just about maintaining the Oil flow .. and for that if west literally F'd up every country and killed millions in process is no big deal ? every Single ME country that is been supporting the rebels have close ties with US yet US did nothing , is it intentional or the Super Power just couldn't figure it out ? ( masoomana Sawal ) ..

AQ Ir and the extremist elements within Iraq also act against the US to ensure that the Americans dont leave that easily and continue to provide a bulwark against Iran. Once the Americans left, there was a need to ensure the Iraqis did not have a stable government that could take independent decisions..that is where the ISIS gambit started forming.
This isnt one force against the other, this is the result of US interests clashing with Iranian interests which merge with Russian interests that clash with GCC interests which merge with US interests which clash with Saudi interests which merge with Chinese interests and so on.

Oscar bhai , as i ask about the Mehdi Army lead by Muqtadar al Sadr, he was Armed by the US and they use him as a paid Mercenary against the Sunni Population in Iraq that ignite the rise of AQ in the Iraq to the level of where even US were counting their Body bags daily , and for that same Mehdi army what happened ? when the Interest is over the same US attacked the Mutadar al Sadr ,and he held a city ( probably outskirts of Karabala ) and repel every US attacks ..

Shia? Sunni? Who the hell cares? This is not a black and white situation.
There is no creating of a fight between Shia and Sunni because both technically cant stand each other in a political spectrum. Shia Sunni did not emerge overnight, the subcontinent has had Shia Sunni clashes because the Shia believe in quiet that Sunnis are Kafir and vice versa. It goes on and on.

Agree with you here .. No Disagreement ..