Turks Shoot Down 2 Syrian Su-24s in One Day, Turkish-Qaeda Offensive in Full Swing, Taking Ground From Syrian Army
A NATO military and al-Qaeda affiliate advancing shoulder to shoulder
Syria’s state-run news agency SANA:
A military source told SANA in a statement that at 13:25 pm on Sunday, Turkish air force intercepted two Syrian aircrafts and downed them over the Syrian territory while the two aircrafts were carrying out a mission against armed terrorist organizations in Idleb area.
The pilots used parachutes and landed safely, the source added.
The Syrian Su-24 strike aircraft were in Syrian airspace when they were shot down by Turkish F-16 fighters from Turkish airspace assisted by an AWACS plane.
اللحظات الأولى لاسقاط الطائرة الحربية سيخوي لعصابات الاسد في منطقة جبل الزاوية بريف ادلب. pic.twitter.com/ojGWNPcPTE
— حسن جنيد HASAN (@Hasan_Jneed) March 1, 2020
🇹🇷🇸🇾 Un Su-24 del ejercito sirio parece haber sido derribado al sur de Idlib. https://t.co/qoyeBhZLve
— Descifrando la Guerra (@descifraguerra) March 1, 2020
🇹🇷E-7 AEW&C is detected 3 Su-24s and alerted F-16 CAP in region.F-16 didnt lock on to Su-25s, its radar was off but fired 2 AIM-120C7 with radar data(Link 16) from E-7. So Su-24s couldn't notice radar lock. E-7 assisted C7 till its own radar active in last seconds. @hkilichsword https://t.co/ANa9TeSfu0
— Kevin Sky🎖️𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜 𐰶𐰃𐰯𐰲𐰴 (@EmirLouise) March 1, 2020
This is taking place in conjunction with a Turkish-rebel attack on the southern front of the Idlib enclave that is so far advancing at a decent pace. This is sparsely populated mountainous terrain, so not exactly prime real estate. And it is progressing against an un-entrenched Syrian army seeing the government side had only wrestled control of this terrain days ago. Nonetheless, the setback for Damascus is real and its military is for the second time in a week being pushed back, which had not happened before since something like 2017.
Say what you will about Erdogan but he has kept his threat that come March 1 comes war. There is no other word for it, Turkey and Syria are at war. When their February-end deadline for Syrian withdrawal from their own territory expired the Turks officially launched “Operation Peace Spring”, an invasion of Syria to restore Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) control to territories they held before the Syrian army advances of the past two months.
HTS is a jihadi coalition that was forged by its dominant force, Jabhat al-Nusra (later renamed to Jabhat Fateh al Sham). Nusra is an offshoot of ISIS which after a dispute with the parent organization then declared allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama’s former number two, and current leader of al-Qaeda.
I don’t think a NATO army has ever fought in such a close association with bin Ladenites. Even in Libya the cooperation was not quite this close.
https://journal-neo.org/2020/03/02/turkey-in-syria-down-a-blind-alley-in-an-unwinnable-war/
slow aircraft easily destroyed w/out fighter protection, similar to the US a-10—of course turks fear invading Syrian airspace where sukois will destroy them…
Looking back to when the Russians first made their appearances in Syria one can see a pattern and that pattern has been detrimental to Syria. It all started off OK, terrorists and their equipment and funding got destroyed then the BS started. Lavrov and Kerry with their ‘moderate rebels’, cease fires, Astana/Sochi which the Iranians honoured, delivering ‘moderate rebels’ to Idlib, allowing Turkey to set up observation posts, US destroying Raqqa and setting up their bases and confiscating the oil fields, Turkey violating Sochi that the Russians were aware of for 18 months and done nothing to enforce it and now Turkey trying to annex with the US Syrian territory. To add poison to the wound Russia goes along with the israeli incursions.
Now, how has Russian “assistance” benefited the Syrians? Assad would have been better off handing Syrian territory over to the US and saved a lot of lives, refugees and Syria would still have their infrastructure!
Vladimir Putin is trying to win a war without triggering WW3, I think is doing quite a swell job.
The Russians have made a distinct advert for their geo-political ambition to be masters in the Middle East. What an ally the Russians are. You have to feel sorry for the Syrians.
Why has Russia not kept is word to back up its Syrian allies? Why are Russian missiles not annihilating Ottoman forces in the ground if not actually inside Erdoganistan? Is Putin stupid enough to believe he can still wean away Turkey from NATO?
Because they are not stupid even to get heavily involved militarily, no one wants ww3 to start from a border spat between 2 countries that don’t really matter.
If that’s the case why not just surrender to Turkey, and invite Erdogan to occupy Damascus ?
There is zero chance that this will start WWIII and every damn country matters.
https://ejmagnier.com/2020/03/01/erdogan-idlib-is-mine/
This article is just sadly excellent. I hope Mr. Magnier is wrong in his analysis, but all indicates that he is right. Those 10 hours without protection were a calamity for the Syrians. Fortunately they took Sarakib again. https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/5679574.html
I think he’s the finest analyst on Middle East geopolitics and certainly on Syria.
I’m sensing an uneasy alliance between the Russians, Turks, and the Israelis.
With three days before the Putin-Erdogan meeting as outlined in your article from above, the Russians could send a long-lasting message to Syria based-Turkish troops and their terrorist allies. Will they?
So we sit and wait. All western pollies stay mum. Disgusting.
As they should, we want no part of your war. Leave everyone else out of it
It is shameful that the leadership of European nations are in bed with AQ, the same people who set off bombs in European cities, and random knife attacks.
The Jewhadis are a stain on history, worse even than the SS.
They both served the same master.