Syria Doesn’t Give Up Despite Renewed Attacks From Neighbors And Terrorists

by Drago Bosnic, published on InfoBRICS, June 9, 2022

Syria has been under a perpetual siege for over a decade now. The country has a magnificent history, being a vibrant civilization for millennia. Had it not been for the political West and its satellite states effectively invading the country for the last 11 years, it would’ve been a perfect tourist destination, as it’s bristling with priceless historical and cultural heritage. Unfortunately, Syria and its people have been subjected to a brutal bloodbath, euphemistically called the “Syrian Civil War“. However, when taking into account the composition of terrorist groups and organizations operating in the country, it becomes much clearer this is not a civil war, but an ongoing invasion. After Russia was called to intervene and help Syria push back, the country finally managed to get most of its territory back, although large swathes are still under foreign occupation, especially in the areas east of the Euphrates River.

Apart from Al-Tanf and the surrounding area, Syria’s eastern regions have been under brutal US occupation, where the belligerent neocolonialist power in decline has been unabashedly stealing Syrian oil for years. Other areas under foreign occupation include territories in the north, where the ever-expanding Turkey is effectively trying to annex Syrian lands. Both the US and Turkey are giving direct support to various terrorist groups, including those directly affiliated with Al-Qaeda and even the Islamic State (IS) itself. To the south, Israel is also conducting airstrikes, targeting Syrian air defenses and pro-Iranian forces. None of this is new to anyone even remotely familiar with the situation on the ground. However, due to major events taking place elsewhere, especially Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Syria has been sidelined in recent months. Still, the struggle continues.

Lately, the areas of central Syria have seen a significant resurgence of Islamic State terrorist activities. With the area mostly being an unpopulated desert with no means for the self-sustaining presence of any terrorist group, it’s quite clear that the Islamic State and its affiliates are being financed, armed and given logistical support from abroad. With the immediate proximity of the aforementioned Al-Tanf, including its surrounding areas under US occupation, we’ll leave our readership to conclude who might be aiding the Islamic State, not only in its survival, but also in sustainment and resurgence in such harsh conditions. Luckily, the activities of the foreign-backed terrorist group have been kept in check by the joint efforts of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the Russian military and other allied forces.

According to South Front, late on June 2, SAAF (Syrian Arab Air Force) and the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a series of airstrikes in areas of western Deir Ezzor countryside in Syria’s central region. The airstrikes targeted IS personnel, equipment and hideouts on the outskirts of the town of al-Shula, where a bus carrying some 30 civilians from Aleppo to Deir Ezzor was ambushed early that same day. IS terrorists attacked the bus with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, killing three civilians and wounding at least 21 others. The Syrian and Russian airstrikes were most certainly a response to the deadly ambush. A large-scale operation by the SAA and its allies taking place in the countryside areas of eastern Homs, eastern Hama, southern Aleppo and southern Raqqa has pushed ISIS cells towards the western countryside of Deir Ezzor. The SAA and its allies will likely expand their operation to cover precisely that area.

Further south, the area of Al-Tanf also seems to have seen an uptick in terrorist activities. On May 14, an SAA warrant officer was killed with another soldier wounded when their vehicle was ambushed near the frontline with the southeastern area under illegal US occupation. According to SOHR (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights), the attackers were IS terrorists. The London-based monitoring group claims that the SAA vehicle was ambushed near al-Shahmi junction just outside of the illegal 55-kilometer no-fly zone imposed by invading US forces. Prior to the attack, SOHR reported a series of US sorties over the area. Around 200 US occupation troops and 300 terrorists dubbed “Revolutionary Commando Army“, yet another US terrorist proxy portrayed as the so-called “moderate opposition”, are usually present in Al-Tanf. The terrorist group was established under the pretext of fighting the IS. Strangely enough, it’s precisely in this region that the Islamic State is most active. This, again, is rather telling of the purpose of the US occupation of Al-Tanf.

Early on June 8, in Syria’s southwest, Israeli ground forces, composed of several Merkava battle tanks entered the UN-monitored buffer zone in the governorate of al-Quneitra and reportedly opened fire at an observation post manned by SAA personnel, near the town of al-Malgah. In addition to Israeli incursions, Syria is faced with the prospect of another Turkish offensive operation in the north.

Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL) are preparing to launch a large-scale attack on SAA-held areas in the western Aleppo countryside, Syrian sources stated on June 4. The two groups, infamous for their terrorist activities in Syria’s northwest, control the region of Greater Idlib, which also includes a small section of the western Aleppo countryside. HTS and the NFL are massing their forces in preparation for an attack on the towns of Kabtan al-Jabal and Anjara.

The Russian military, specifically its Aerospace Forces component, and the SAA are working on neutralizing various terrorist groups attacking civilians and SAA personnel alike. Occupation forces of the US, NATO, numerous client states and terrorist proxies present the main obstacle to finally establishing peace in the war-torn country.

The invasion has been going on for over a decade and it may very well take years to drive the aggressors out, but Syria is left with no other choice. If the country is to finally liberate all of its internationally recognized territories and put an end to the bloodbath it has been pushed into, the final and complete defeat of the political West in the Middle East is the only option. The same is true for the vast majority of other world conflicts.