IS Group Seizes Villages North of Syria's Aleppo

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: ABC/AP

Islamic State militants seized a string of villages from rival insurgents north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Friday in a surprise attack that came despite intensive Russian airstrikes that Moscow insists are targeting the extremist group, activists said.

Iranian state media reported that a senior commander in Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard was killed by the Islamic State group on the outskirts of Aleppo city, but it was not immediately clear whether Gen. Hossein Hamedani's death was related to the new IS offensive.

An Iranian state television report said he was killed while "carrying out an advisory mission," and the official IRNA news agency read a statement by the Guard in which it blamed IS for his death. Neither report provided further details.

The IS advance — the most significant in months — came amid a wave of Russian airstrikes that have targeted insurgents fighting to topple President Bashar Assad, and a ground offensive by the Syrian army in the country's central region.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/revolutionary-guard-general-killed-syria-amid-attack-34362554

[joshcryer]

1. Russia is going to have to invest ground troops.

The Syrian army isn't equipped to handle Saudi funded and armed ISIS groups. This is going to get a lot more ugly (as if one could say that about Syria) before it gets better.

[Yupster]

2. They didn't seize the villages from Assad's forces

They seized them from other anti-Assad forces.

I think this is the Russian strategy. First wipe out the non-ISIS anti-Assad forces. Then once it's one on one, the world will have to choose between Assad and ISIS.

The poor other anti-Assad groups will be caught between Russian backed Assad and ISIS. They won't have a chance.

[pampango]

3. "First wipe out the non-ISIS anti-Assad forces. The world will have to choose between Assad and ISIS

Sounds like a pretty good strategy if you're the ruling dictator of Syria. The "non-ISIS anti-Assad forces" are too 'acceptable' to many in the world as an alternative to the dictator. Once it comes down to "ISIS or me" Assad will be looking pretty good.

Assad has been saying it 'the terrorists or me' since 2011. Back then it wasn't true but once the country is dragged into a civil war, it becomes more and more true every day.

No one ever said Bashar was stupid.

[Yupster]

4. I see the Civil War ending pretty quickly now

The remaining questions will be

1. Once ISIS is chased out of Syria, will Iraq invite the Russians into their country to chase ISIS out of there too.

2. What can be done to protect the Kurds as once ISIS is out of Syria, Assad will want to disarm the Kurds.

This has the potential to be an amazingly cheap strategic triumph for Putin. It will leave each Middle Eastern country scrambling to make the best deal they can with the Russians, even Israel.

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. "Assad will want to disarm the Kurds." Maybe.

The Syrian Kurds never rose up against Assad, they didn't join the fight to overthrow him, but they did take advantage of state weakness to effectively control their own territory. There seems to be some sort of modus vivendi between Assad and the Kurds; they don't attack each other.

[Yupster]

6. But once Assad is in full control again

will he permit this quasi state within his nation?

[Comrade Grumpy]

7. I kind of doubt that Assad will ever be in full control of Syrian Kurdistan again.

I suspect the chances are good we are going to see a realignment of borders in the region:

A Shiite Iraqi state in southern and central Iraq.

A Kurdish state in Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan.

A Sunni state in northern Iraq and western Syria.

A Syrian rump state in Damascus-Homs-Aleppo and along the seacoast.

[Yupster]

9. Maybe, but

I would bet against it.

But who knows?

[flamingdem]

8. Who is funding the the non-ISIS anti-Assad forces?

And who are they - Islamic or secular?

I've lost track along the way.

[Comrade Grumpy]

10. Here's a decent, if somewhat dated, guide to rebel factions

From December 2013. Not much has changed, except ISIS grew much larger.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24403003

There are believed to be as many as 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated 100,000 fighters.
Many of the groups are small and operate on a local level, but a number have emerged as powerful forces with affiliates across the country or formed alliances with other groups that share a similar agenda. Here we look at the most prominent....

Click on the link for the list. There are a whole lot of Islamists of various stripes.