Syrian army takes last IS-held town in Homs - monitor

[rooster59]

Syrian army takes last IS-held town in Homs - monitor

 

FILE PHOTO: People shop along a street in the city of Homs, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on April 7, 2017. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

 

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government and allied forces have taken the last major town in Homs province from Islamic State, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday, as the army advances towards militant strongholds in the east of the country.

 

The town of al-Sukhna lies some 50 km (30 miles) northeast of the ancient city of Palmyra, which was captured by government forces in March.

 

al-Sukhna is some 50 km from the administrative frontier of Deir al-Zor province, which is almost entirely under Islamic State control.

 

A Hezbollah media unit said government and allied forces were making considerable progress inside the city of Sukhna. Lebanon's Hezbollah group fights on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian conflict.

 

Syrian state news agency SANA reported earlier on Saturday that the army was advancing into al-Sukhna from three directions.

 

Islamic State is losing ground fast in Syria to separate campaigns waged by the Russian-backed Syrian government on the one hand, and to U.S.-backed Kurdish forces and their allies on the other.

 

Government forces, backed by the Russian air force and Iran-backed militias, have also been advancing against IS in Hama province and in southern areas of Raqqa province.

 

U.S.-led operations against IS are currently focused on taking Raqqa city in northern Syria.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-06

[boomerangutang]

Wow, a pic of a Syrian town without rubble everywhere.  Still, not a green leaf in sight.   When people first moved into that region, about 27,000 years ago, they started killing forests, animals, streams.  It's been downhill since.

[connda]

1 hour ago, boomerangutang said:

Wow, a pic of a Syrian town without rubble everywhere.  Still, not a green leaf in sight.   When people first moved into that region, about 27,000 years ago, they started killing forests, animals, streams.  It's been downhill since.

Sorta like Thailand.  No wild animals.  Deforestation.  Polluted unusable aquifers.  But, due to it's location, not likely to turn into sand.  Welcome to the modern world.  Up next: ISIS.

[simple1]

2 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

Wow, a pic of a Syrian town without rubble everywhere.  <snip>

Photo from 04/17 in Homs, likely government held area with no fighting. The town in the OP probably looks like other areas of Syrian with urban fighting.

[halloween]

Al-Sukhna is ~240km east of Homs (using 2⁰ 10' longitude difference = 130 nautical miles).

[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, simple1 said:

Photo from 04/17 in Homs, likely government held area with no fighting. The town in the OP probably looks like other areas of Syrian with urban fighting.

It was a file photo provided by SANA on April 7, 2017

That doesn't necessarily set the date the photo was taken. There was a siege of Homs by the Syrian opposition as a part of the Syrian Civil War from May 2011 to May 2014.  Thereafter, rebel forces were allowed to evacuate the city, leaving Homs under full government control.  So the photo was taken either before the siege in May 2011 or after rebels vacated the city in May 2014. In either periods there was no fighting to disrupt the scene presented as a peaceful, clean street scene. 

[friendofthai]

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights consists of a single Syrian man who live in London.
It is hard to find more reliable source of Syrian news for sure.

[Stargeezr]

It is nice to see that not all cities in Syria have been bombed into complete

ruin.

Geezer

[simple1]

4 hours ago, friendofthai said:

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights consists of a single Syrian man who live in London.
It is hard to find more reliable source of Syrian news for sure.

Who has approx 200 people providing updates from Syria. Many media organisations no longer have reporters in the conflict areas due to high death rates / being deliberately targeted

[simple1]

8 hours ago, Srikcir said:

It was a file photo provided by SANA on April 7, 2017

That doesn't necessarily set the date the photo was taken. There was a siege of Homs by the Syrian opposition as a part of the Syrian Civil War from May 2011 to May 2014.  Thereafter, rebel forces were allowed to evacuate the city, leaving Homs under full government control.  So the photo was taken either before the siege in May 2011 or after rebels vacated the city in May 2014. In either periods there was no fighting to disrupt the scene presented as a peaceful, clean street scene. 

So what?

Edited August 6, 2017 by simple1

[friendofthai]

On 07.08.2017 at 3:10 AM, simple1 said:

Who has approx 200 people providing updates from Syria. Many media organisations no longer have reporters in the conflict areas due to high death rates / being deliberately targeted

And the names of these 200 people, of course, are too secret to be presented to the public. sic!

[simple1]

10 hours ago, friendofthai said:

And the names of these 200 people, of course, are too secret to be presented to the public. sic!

Correct. If identified by the dictatorship would be murdered

[Scott]

An off-topic post has been removed.  

[Rancid]

On 8/6/2017 at 11:18 PM, Stargrazer9889 said:

It is nice to see that not all cities in Syria have been bombed into complete

ruin.

Geezer

True, bloody Russians messed that up. Somehow doubt the rabid neocons will be celebrating their boys being ousted from yet another Syrian town. Syria does seem to be going off the boil, Ukraine being on the Russian border is unwinnable,  suppose that's why all the threats now to N Korea and Venezuela, got to keep those weapon profits flowing.