Posted on 02/11/2015 4:31:59 PM PST by tired&retired
The large-scale offensive the Syrian army launched in southern Syria Sunday, Feb. 8 – the broadest in that region in the nearly-four year conflict – heralded Act III of the Iranian-Hizballah drive for a position on Israel’s Golan border, DEBKAfile’s military sources report. Israel curtailed Act I on Jan 18 with an air strike which killed a dozen Iranian and Hizballah officers scooping out the Golan town of Quneitra for their new base. Among them were the commander of Iranian forces in Syria, Revolutionary Guards general Mohamad Ali Allah Dadi and a senior Hizballah officer Ali al-Tabtabani.
This cut short a move to seize a forward position in the northern Golan and adjacent Hermon.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon then reiterated that Israel would not permit Iran and Hizballah to create a military enclave there for their forces to jump-start terrorist strikes and rocket attacks against Israel.
And they did on Feb. 8 from an unexpected direction – the south. Elements of the Syrian army’s Ninth Division and 121st Brigade armed with 50 T-72 tanks led a sweeping Iranian-Hizballah offensive dubbed “Operation Ali Allah Dadi for Quneitra Martyrs.” With them were 4,000 Shiite fighters imported by Iran for the battle and several hundred Hizballah gunmen – all under the command of Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers.
The operation started out with an Iranian-led force advancing on the southern Syrian town of Deraa – part of which is held by Syrian rebels - and heading for the junction of the Syrian-Jordanian and Israeli borders.
Debka? Shouldn’t this be under ‘Bloggers’
This may seem like a big victory for Iran and its Syrian proxy, but in reality, it is a tactical retreat from ISIS. They are being driven south as their few northern territories fall.
50 T-72’s? really? that’s what they got? That’s about 10 minutes worth of work for a squad of skoot-and-shoot Merkavas. The Persians have wisely avoided getting into fights themselves for quite some time now. But that smells like they got a couple geniuses itching for re-training. Maybe a job for just one MOAB if they make a habit of clusterflocking in a big happy group?
Getting very interesting.
It is that. And it will be very scary for those who don't know.
“50 T-72’s? really? that’s what they got?”
If DEBKA reports it, they are probably imaginary T-72’s.
Indeed
It’s Debka, so...
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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okay, a bit of an update.
US warning as pro-Assad Hezbollah fighters launch assault on Syrian rebels
Official warns of ‘unprecedented’ influx of 20,000 foreign fighters into Syria as Hezbollah fighters, backed by the Assad regime, advance in country’s south
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/11/us-warning-assad-hezbollah-syria
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