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Massive Russian blanket air bombardment is flattening Raqqa
Debka ^ | Nov. 21, 2015

Posted on 11/22/2015 6:17:19 PM PST by rickmichaels

Russia has launched a merciless blanket air campaign, backed by Kalibr cruise missiles fired from the Caspian and Mediterranean Seas, for the object of wiping the Islamic State's Syrian center of Raqqa off the map, DEBKAfile's military sources report.

Western and Middle East sources tracking the campaign since Friday, Nov. 20, report that at least 75 air sorties have been conducted and are systematically razing the town of 200,000 inhabitants 160km east of Aleppo, district by district, irrespective of civilian town dwellers.

Moscow wants the entire Middle East and Muslim world to see the price exacted for launching a terrorist attack on Russia after the downing of the Metrojet airliner that killed 224 people over Egyptian Sinai on Oct. 31.

Russian bombers and cruise missiles rained death and destruction on the ISIS administration center after the jihadists claimed responsibility for that disaster and published photos of a soft drink can claimed to have been rigged as a bomb for blowing the plane up.

When the Russians are done, the town will be a pile of rubble, an intelligence source told DEBKAfile.

The Russian defense ministry ran photos Friday of Russian technicians loading bombs on the Tupolev 95 bombers (dubbed "Bears" in the West). Ground crews marked the bombs "For ours," and "For Paris."

Last Tuesday, our military sources first revealed that the Tupolev's were taking off from Morozovsk air base in the Rostov district of southern Russia instead of from the Russian military enclave outside the Syrian town of Latakia.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported Friday that 15 Syrian oil facilities seized by ISIS had been destroyed this week and 525 of their trucks, costing the jihadists $1.5 million a day in revenue.

As for casualties, the published figure of 600 jihadists killed in one day is probably far below the real figure. Our sources report that the Islamist terrorists' death toll most probably runs into thousands with many more injured.

To sustain the hectic tempo of its aerial war, Moscow has doubled the number of bombers assigned to Syria from 34 two weeks ago to 69 by Saturday, Nov. 21.

Our military sources add that this augmented air power allows the Russians to expand their targets to other parts of Syria. On Friday, they renewed sorties against Syrian rebel forces holding the southern town of Deraa near the Jordanian border.


TOPICS: War on Terror
KEYWORDS: isis; russia; syria
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past
"Any country that gave us Tetris can’t be all bad, haha."

Russia gave us Isaac Asimov, also.

61 posted on 11/22/2015 8:07:59 PM PST by matthew fuller (Red-blooded, patriotic Americans understand that we are at war. That's why obama doesn't.)
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

You’re going too far for me. Russia does have an authoritarian drive toward domination outside its borders. Something of its own caliphatic-type sense of destiny for global domination, and that is a risk that should be recognized. It is, for example, an implicit ally of Iran’s, and Iran has a stated goal of destroying the US militarily.

Squashing ISIS may be a good outcome, but naivete and romanticism re: Russia is not a good thing.


62 posted on 11/22/2015 8:12:08 PM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: litehaus

Monday the French Carrier will be on station and ready to go. I expect they will enter the fight with a vengence—maybe tonight! It will be awsome! Raqqa will be no more!


63 posted on 11/22/2015 8:16:51 PM PST by Forward the Light Brigade (Into the Jaws of H*ll Onward! Ride to the sound of the guns!)
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To: Retain Mike
Russia is not using cruise missles only-
64 posted on 11/22/2015 8:17:13 PM PST by matthew fuller (Red-blooded, patriotic Americans understand that we are at war. That's why obama doesn't.)
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

Oh, and the short answer to Obama’s support of the Sunni ISIS over the Shia Iran’s puppet Assad in Syria, is that not only are “our friends the Saudis (and Jordanians and...) Sunni, but so are Indonesia and Pakistan from Obama’s youth.


65 posted on 11/22/2015 8:22:25 PM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: rickmichaels

Why doesn’t the muslim moon god rock stop the bombs from falling??


66 posted on 11/22/2015 8:23:28 PM PST by CodeToad (Stupid kills, but not nearly enough!)
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To: VerySadAmerican

“Interesting that American press isn’t showing the carnage. “

I’ve been wondering that myself. Where are the nightly videos??


67 posted on 11/22/2015 8:24:18 PM PST by CodeToad (Stupid kills, but not nearly enough!)
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To: rickmichaels

One hydrogen bomb should do it.


68 posted on 11/22/2015 8:25:53 PM PST by AlaskaErik (I served and protected my country for 31 years. Progressives spent that time trying to destroy it.)
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To: Paladin2

carpet is thicker, and stapled down. So yeah, carpet.


69 posted on 11/22/2015 8:26:32 PM PST by visualops (artlife.us)
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To: litehaus

Ja, this

And also Tokyo with the Fire bombing

Too bad for the civilians who probably are being used as shields by ISIS

Next stop Mosul


70 posted on 11/22/2015 8:26:58 PM PST by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: 9YearLurker

I am not convinced. They have said over and over that the spread of NATO toward their borders was viewed as a threat. We negotiated one thing but did another. They claim their actions are a response to that, and to the fact that they see us as violating our negotiated agreement with them regarding those issues. So which is it? An aggression or a response? I’ll be honest, I see their point. If the tables were turned, what would we do? It does not look like moves to conquer. It looks like moves to secure.

But I respect your view and fully recognize I could be wrong. I cannot deny how it looks to me. I don’t think it is naivete and romanticism at all. I take no sides and stay cautious. But what I see on our side is a bunch of dug in attitudes that are not based on reality. I’m still stuck on “Trust but verify.” Many have moved to just plain distrust, vilify and squash and betray. We then get a reaction from them and say AHA!!!! Look! I told you they were aggressive. But which came first? We are a long way from the things Reagan said back when they were much more of a threat as the USSR. He worked to build trust saying, “we do not distrust because we are armed, we are armed because we distrust.” He discovered that they REALLY BELIEVED we would one day instigate a first strike. To us that sounds crazy. To them it was a solid belief. Do we really want to return to that?

Too many of the wise minds in our Country have died out and we have seen a rise in either hot heads or fruitcakes holding power, sometimes both at the same time.


71 posted on 11/22/2015 8:34:31 PM PST by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light..... Isaiah 5:20)
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

Thanks for your reply, especially the “Tetris” part ;)


72 posted on 11/22/2015 8:35:37 PM PST by jttpwalsh
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To: VerySadAmerican

“Interesting that American press isn’t showing the carnage. Maybe it’s because they’re not willing to die to get this story.”

As soon as there’s a few dead children to photograph it will be the leading news story.


73 posted on 11/22/2015 8:36:19 PM PST by Rebelbase
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

I had a professor who predicted we would become more like Russia, and Russia would become more like us. I don’t have a visionary bone in my body, naturally, I scoffed at the notion.


74 posted on 11/22/2015 8:39:04 PM PST by jttpwalsh
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To: jttpwalsh

My dad told me that back in the ‘70s. I thought he was nuts.
He also hoped things would plateau out but I don’t see that yet. If we get Hillary or an empty Republican suit again, we will continue our descent.


75 posted on 11/22/2015 8:43:27 PM PST by Psalm 144 (The mill grinds exceedingly fine.)
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To: Psalm 144

I agree with you 100%


76 posted on 11/22/2015 8:45:09 PM PST by jttpwalsh
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To: jttpwalsh

” I don’t have a visionary bone in my body, naturally, I scoffed at the notion.”


Slightly off topic but I had a friend who was quite serious with a guy back in the early 50s.

She broke it off,though,because she thought he was nuts. All he talked about was man landing on the moon.

We all told her it was a wise decision.

.


77 posted on 11/22/2015 8:45:47 PM PST by Mears
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To: datura
Certain things once unimaginable are now inevitable since Obama took office.....God used Nebuchadnezzar too...he will always use “the willing” to accomplish his purposes. Russian counter-terrorism agency kills 11 militants allied with ISIS..."""" in North Caucasus raid"""" (Astounding when you consider!).........the raid was conducted Sunday morning near Nalchik, the capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria republic, and the militants were killed after opening fire on law enforcement officers. Meanwhile Obama Dropped Leaflets- Gave ISIS 45 Minutes Before Bombing Them!!!


78 posted on 11/22/2015 8:49:30 PM PST by caww
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To: datura
Certain things once unimaginable are now inevitable since Obama took office.....God used Nebuchadnezzar too...he will always use “the willing” to accomplish his purposes. Russian counter-terrorism agency kills 11 militants allied with ISIS..."""" in North Caucasus raid"""" (Astounding when you consider!).........the raid was conducted Sunday morning near Nalchik, the capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria republic, and the militants were killed after opening fire on law enforcement officers. Meanwhile Obama Dropped Leaflets- Gave ISIS 45 Minutes Before Bombing Them!!!


79 posted on 11/22/2015 8:49:31 PM PST by caww
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To: matthew fuller
Of course not. The article says they have 69 aircraft in country. Those would be their fight bombers. I never wanted to imply they were using only cruise missiles.
80 posted on 11/22/2015 8:50:50 PM PST by Retain Mike
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