General Choomin
Banned
The same NYT that reported on WMDs in Iraq? I guess that's why a rag like alarabiya would repost it.
The same NYT that reported on WMDs in Iraq? I guess that's why a rag like alarabiya would repost it.
Not at all. Just those pertaining to the middle east should be more suspect then not in my opinion. The propaganda in Libya should discourage a lot of people into believing what most western and GCC media have to say. But I guess people have short attention spans and are ready to be outraged into supporting lies at a drop of the hat.
Anyways, why do you read alarabiya? It speaks to your character that you would use that as a source. Since it is a sectarian hate rag that makes foxnews look tame. Was it a mistake on your part in which you randomly googled and proceeded to post the first few links or are you an actual reader?
On Thursday, July 11, 2013, Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander Kamal Hamami (aka Abu Bassir al-Ladkani) was killed by members of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham ISI(S) in Latakia. International media has turned their spotlight on this incident, with wide speculation as to what it could mean for the rebels. In fact, tensions between moderate Syrian FSA factions and jihadist extremists affiliated with al- Qaeda have been present since jihadist elements first appeared in Syria, but have become increasingly visible in recent months.[1] While the assassination of Hamami was the most spectacular and high-profile event to date, it is not yet clear that this event marks any significant shift in the tactical relationship between rebel units and al Qaeda groups. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that Syrian rebels are facing a long term threat from al-Qaeda affiliates that want a different future for Syria. - See more at: http://www.understandingwar.org/bac...ws-its-true-colors-syria#sthash.TEAh8mKG.dpuf
Some new and very interesting articles from UnderstandingWar.Com
Al-Qaeda Shows its True Colors in Syria
Click on the link for the whole article!
Required Sorties and Weapons to Degrade Syrian Air Force
An analytical piece, in the form of a power point slide, on what the requirements would be to negate the Syrian Air Forces ability to fulfill their 3 main missions gaining them a strategic advantage over the rebels.
Very interesting articles!
The Syrian Coalition applauds Free Syrian Army fighters on the Syrian Coast, as well as their fellow fighters across Syria, as the following areas in rural Latakia become liberated: Jabal Al Turkuman and Jabal Akrad mountains, including Mount Zion and Al Haffah on the Mediterranean.
These areas were previously occupied by Assad forces and some were used as military sites from where Assad militias shelled populated areas and launched artillery strikes on innocent civilians.
The military posts of Inbata, Baruda, and Tela are now under the control of FSA fighters who will now defend and protect civilians in those areas. The FSA will continue to fight for Syrians' aspirations of freedom and dignity as the battle of liberating Syria continues.
The FSA and the Syrian Coalition consider all Syrian people equal, regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds. The new Syria will be a pluralistic and democratic state of justice and freedom that will safeguard the rights of all citizens.
So the Latakia battle is just the FSAs desperate attempt to have Assad withdraw from Homs and Aleppo, the fighters are losing ground fast and are facing enemies on multiple locations with Kurdish,Hezbollah,Shia groups from Iraq,Iran,Pakistan, SAA, NDF fighters.. reports state Kurds from Iran are mobilizing to join the fight... The rebels also lost the government support of both Egypt,Turkey and the UK so how do they think they'll win? They are just delaying the inevitable
BEIRUT, Lebanon Rebel fighters on Monday swept into a sprawling government air base in northern Syria where isolated government troops had fought off their attacks for nearly a year, and by early Tuesday controlled almost all the base, seizing several tanks and other munitions and taking soldiers prisoner, rebel and opposition groups said.
The victory, said by the groups to have been led by two foreign men in an armored vehicle who carried out a suicide attack to breach the defenses of the Minakh air base, was bound to boost the morale of an insurgency that has faltered in recent months with rebels fighting among themselves and losing long-held ground to the army.
Such gains have sometimes been reversed within days, as the government strikes back from the air. But if it holds, the rebels seizure of the Minakh base in Aleppo Province will challenge the governments assertion that it is rolling to victory and demonstrate the complexity of the Syrian battlefield, which neither side has been able to control and where momentum shifts from place to place and week to week.
Even as the battle at Minakh was raging, the government was celebrating its own victory in the central city of Homs, where the defense minister toured the shattered Khalidiyeh neighborhood, long held by insurgents, and posed in front of the Khalid bin al-Waleed mosque a 13th-century landmark that had been a rebel rallying point and was heavily damaged in the fighting.
The FSA and the Syrian Coalition consider all Syrian people equal, regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds. The new Syria will be a pluralistic and democratic state of justice and freedom that will safeguard the rights of all citizens.
How often has this been said? The Rebels are not going away!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/w...ernment-air-base-in-syria.html?ref=world&_r=0
Another NYTimes article. It's funny how they get to report on the ongoing situation in Syria when they have no reporters there. Bias stories stream out from the rebel side which is basically propaganda and lies then. Then the media organizations give some bullshit disclaimer that this is all unverified because of the lie that no news media is allowed into Syria.
Several news media are allowed into Syria. Hell, on liveleaks you can often see russian war journalists directly embedded with the SAA. Other nations are also reporting directly in Syria out in the open. The Syrian government won't allow particular nations such as america and the GCC nations since they have been liars and biased from the beginning. They learned from the mistakes Gaddafi made in which he let them in and they trashed him.
This is bullshit. Since the FSA and the Syrian Coalition (of guys outside the country) have no say in actual operations. The new Syria that they are helping to create will be the next Afghanistan. It will not be a "pluralistic and democratic state". Those are just buzzwords so that Europeans send in more weapons so that they can commit war crimes.
The Latakia area is full of Alawite and other minorities. What the cowardly traitorous bloodthirsty fee syrian army is doing there is going to be to hold hostage the entire area and execute a good number of them and later say it was because they where shabbibi or some other nonsense. That's pretty much all they do so don't call it liberating.
How often has this been said? The Rebels are not going away!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/w...ernment-air-base-in-syria.html?ref=world&_r=0
So the Latakia battle is just the FSAs desperate attempt to have Assad withdraw from Homs and Aleppo, the fighters are losing ground fast and are facing enemies on multiple locations with Kurdish,Hezbollah,Shia groups from Iraq,Iran,Pakistan, SAA, NDF fighters.. reports state Kurds from Iran are mobilizing to join the fight... The rebels also lost the government support of both Egypt,Turkey and the UK so how do they think they'll win? They are just delaying the inevitable
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23583865The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said rebels had captured the villages in Latakia after attacking government outposts with anti-tank missiles in the Jabal al-Akrad hills on Sunday.
The group said troops and rebels had been engaged in fierce fighting in the province for two days, adding that there had been casualties on both sides.
........
Despite pockets of resistance to President Assad in Latakia, most of it remains under army control.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-syria-crisis-refugees-idUSBRE9740V120130805One concern was "recruitment by armed groups, including of under-aged refugees", the report said, without elaborating.
A U.N. official told Reuters that there were suspicions that boys of 15 or 16 were often taken back to fight, chaperoned by an uncle, elder brother or other relative.
"It's a war crime," the official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said child recruitment had not been a major problem until now because the opposition forces did not have enough arms and ammunition.
But the lifting of embargoes on supplying arms to opposition groups meant both sides would need more soldiers.
Even if it suspects child recruitment, the U.N. is almost powerless to stop suspected child soldiers because refugees have a right to return to their own country.
The report said many Syrian children were not attending school in Jordan or Lebanon, but the U.N. official said there was evidence that many were attending religious schools, or madrassahs.
There was also evidence of a new trend of minors, Europeans and North Africans from Tunisia and Algeria, who had "apparently crossed into Syria for the Jihad", the U.N. official said.
Syria was likely to see a repeat of the so-called "Birds of Paradise", children trained by al Qaeda to carry out suicide bombings in Iraq, the official said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/06/world/meast/syria-civil-war/"The start of this new offensive started yesterday when two non-Syrian nationals blew themselves up in an armored vehicle in front of the command center of the Menagh air base," the group added. The SOHR said one suicide bomber was a Saudi Arabian.
Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and various rebel battalions destroyed several tanks and killed a number of regime soldiers, the observatory said. At least 10 rebel fighters, including foreigners, were also killed, the group added
The Islamic State of Iraq is the rebranded name for Al Qaeda in Iraq. The group changed its name after its founder, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed by a U.S. missile strike in 2006.
The expanded term "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" was spawned when the ISI moved into Syria. However, al Nusra Front -- a group inspired by al Qaeda that has fought alongside rebels in Syria -- has denied the existence of a merged group.
I agree, it's only a matter of time before the Syrian government controls the entire country. The only reason why the rebels made these recent small gains is because the SAA effort is concentrated elsewhere right now.
It's funny how liger comes out to post when the rebels take a couple of villages, but completely ignores the SAA retaking Homs and a chunk of Aleppo, which are far bigger gains.
Mufti of Assad Mahmoud: The Reason for Mennegh airbase falling is that the army were busy with worship on Laylatul Qadr..
Whomever wants these "rebels" to win must really hate the people of Syria.
Twitter is not a news source. Could you please talk about how the Fee syrian army and ISIS (aka alqaeda) are using children for suicide bombing as well as child soldiering? Do you think it's alright to brain wash children from squalid refugee camps to become fodder for terrorists who will then use their deaths as propaganda? Do you think that creating another Afghanistan (a goal of the "resistance") is something that is good?
Please answer liger05 because you seem to have ignored three news articles I posted on the situation so you could post a twitter joke.
[...]
The President pointed out that as far as those initiatives were concerned, the tangible facts and information did not indicate chances for success "because the other site, the hostile side, did not want a political solution."
Therefore, he said, Syria's response to the external initiatives led to unmasking those countries, particularly some known Arab states, which would feel frustrated and hysterical whenever Syria responded to any initiative or proposal.
The President said that "Consequently it became obvious that those who used to say that the Syrian state had adopted the security solution were the ones who have adopted the terrorist approach only for the sake of destroying Syria."
"I don't believe that any reasonable man believes that terrorism can be handled by means of politics. Politics may play a role in dealing with terrorism before it emerges However, when terrorism emerges and sabotage, killing and destruction start and spread, there can be no solution when dealing with terrorism except that of striking with an iron fist," President al-Assad said.
[...]
On the political level, President al-Assad said there is in Syria a national opposition which has hurled itself since the first days into the political and national element and a non-national opposition that has had no goal but that of making gains.
He also referred to a third form of opposition that tried "to blackmail us at the start of the crisis under the title that "we stop the demonstrations and you giving us positions in the state and at the government."
That opposition, the President added, had no real relationship with the demonstrations, with some of them having directly or indirectly received money from Gulf states and later started to favor the gunmen and express different views whenever the internal security and military situation on the ground or the international situation would change.
Despite all the Syrian flexibility towards all what has been proposed internally and externally, the President said, things were in continuous escalation and massacres started to claim the Syrians' lives, with the main issue was that "for Syria to be or not to be."
[...]
The President pointed out that although it is true that the war on Syria is being waged in the media and the social websites and even in the society, but settling the crisis can only be done in the field. He added that the economic suffering and the deteriorated services and all the daily affairs which the Syrians are suffering from are connected with the security situation, and the only solution to that is fighting terrorism.
"Therefore, if we succeed in this popular war, and if there will be greater contribution in the rest of the areas, then I can say that the solution will be easier and Syria will be in months able to get out of the crisis and eliminate terrorism," said President al-Assad.
He affirmed that this popular war started on the more than a year to which the Syrian people have contributed being self-motivated and not responding to any calls.
The President reiterated that unifying the army and the people to eliminate the terrorists is the only way "end the battle, turn the table on the others and restore security and stability to Syria which was an example of security and stability not only on the Arab level or the Middle East level, but on the level of the world."
[...]
"We will not get goodness from the people with obscurantist thinking which was established by the wahhabis with blood and killing and politicized by the Muslim Brotherhood by means of hypocrisy, lying and deception," the President said.
He added that this kind of thinking was the first that drove the wedge between Arabism and Islam and between the Muslim and the Muslim and the Muslim and the Christian, and it was what shifted the conflict from an Arabic-Israeli one to an Arab-Arab one.
The President called those people with this thinking as the "neo-Islamists" whom the West is using to serve Israel.
[...]
He concluded by wishing that by next Ramadan, Syria will have recovered and security and stability will have been restored to it.
Twitter is not a news source. Could you please talk about how the Fee syrian army and ISIS (aka alqaeda) are using children for suicide bombing as well as child soldiering? Do you think it's alright to brain wash children from squalid refugee camps to become fodder for terrorists who will then use their deaths as propaganda? Do you think that creating another Afghanistan (a goal of the "resistance") is something that is good?
Please answer liger05 because you seem to have ignored three news articles I posted on the situation so you could post a twitter joke.
A U.N. official told Reuters that there were suspicions that boys of 15 or 16 were often taken back to fight, chaperoned by an uncle, elder brother or other relative.
Syria's president has passed a decree legalising private security firms, faced with a 29-month armed revolt against his rule that has pinned down the police, state news agency SANA reported Tuesday.
President Bashar al-Assad's decree regulates "licencing for private companies that provide protection and guard duties ... to ensure the safety of individuals, establishments, property and the transport of cash, jewels and precious metals," said SANA.
One-year renewable licences are to be issued by the interior ministry, it said, but only to Syrian nationals with capital of more than $250,000.
"The interior minister will define the categories of arms to be used by each company, ranging from revolvers to rifles and others," said the agency.
The decree also stipulates that each company will be licenced to recruit between 300 and 800 guards.
A security source told AFP that guards will have to wear a uniform, while the decree will allow security companies to open offices and issue employees with hand arms.
"Security guards will be in charge of protecting prominent personalities and businesses, while securing the transport of money," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Before Syria's conflict broke out in mid-March 2011, "these tasks were mainly assigned to the police. But because of the situation, now the police has other tasks," he added.
Alongside the anti-Assad uprising, Syria has been plagued by a spike in crime, kidnappings and robberies.
With Assad the people have at least a chance. With these other guys who are a part of this "revolution", the people have no chance.
Those who have to suffer tortue in his dungeons say hello.
It's sad you only say one line about the child soldiers brainwashed to fight and die as well as commit suicide bombings in both Syria and Iraq by your most cited group, the ISIS.
And yes they are all about creating a Talibanesque government. Since they want to overthrow and destroy everything of the government and impose some sort of pure Islamic government with no knowledge of logistics or economy or production. When the Taliban beat the left over government in Afghanistan, the next thing that happened was years of famine. Because people who dream of a "caliphate" (anyone who wants this in this day and age is a backwards idiot) are people who's only concern with their narrow minded bigotry and hate applied to the rest of their society
It's sad you only have one line to give to the children that the side you most want to win is using as cannon fodder.
take a good look at the pure evil that the Syrian military is fighting against.. no way in hell would the west accept an Islamic government shit hole controlled by these people so keep dreaming
Jabhat al Nusra in North Syria Burning 3 innocent kurdish people Alive - NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAKv8-FBIN0
That video of the live burning is disgusting.
Prophet Muhammad said that only Allah is allowed to punish with fire, and that's in the hear-after.
http://www.bakkah.net/en/hadeeth-study-only-allaah-punishes-with-fire.htm
It is also years old and from Iraq.
It is also years old and from Iraq.
You can say whatever you want but the problem is that notions of a "caliphate" are ancient history that only the most rapid destructive fanatics believe in trying to impose. Some of those being the Taliban. You can deny all you want but the truth is what it is.
What? You have no idea what you are even talking about. The Taliban wanted a caliphate? lolwut?
Read it is good for you.
I suggest "The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State" by Noah Feldman or The inevitable Caliphate by Reza Pankhurst.
Less fox news and tinfoil hat wearing YouTube'ers /bloggers would work wonders on your ability to formulate opinions and thought not based in lala land.
Mullah Mohammed Abbas Akhund, acting public health minister for the Taliban in Afghanistan, made a trip to Japan last month at the invitation of the Japanese government.
Speaking in an interview at a Tokyo hotel, he said Taliban supreme leader Maulev Mohammed Omar had been named caliph, or successor to Islam founder Mohammad.
................
Abbas said the Taliban elected Mohammed Omar in April 1996 as amir al momineen, or commander of the faithful--the formal title of a caliph.
He said 2,500 representatives of Afghanistan's various groups and provinces and languages gathered in Kandahar in April last year to declare Mohammed Omar as amir al momineen.
It was the first time since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire early this century that a caliph had been proclaimed.
So, there is a bunch of unverified footage, but apparently 450 kurds have been killed? Of course the footage is once again, unverified, but kurdish protests escalated considerably because of the attacks.
Anyone have more info?
It's still disgusting.
ISIS is a rebranding of al Qaeda in Iraq. The state department has classified them as one of many aliases of al Qaeda. Since al Qaeda has used child suicide bombers in Iraq (to kill over 1000 people mostly Shiites just this month because they are genocidal) it figures that they are doing the same tactics and recruiting in Syria. Who else could you say is doing such evil deeds? Al Nusra? Probably another one of the organizations that you think are the good guys Liger?
Is this civilians or PKK fighters?
Never said it wasnt just it wasnt anything to do with JAN.
I'm reading rebels 10 KM from Qurdaha which is Assad's hometown and ISIS emir Baghdadi has said the aim is to pray Eid in Qurdaha.
HRW can suck a big one with how they lied for the sleaze ball opposition against Hugo Chavez RIP. As well as when they said it was OK for Obama to use extraordinary rendition of suspects (kidnapping and torturing people) to CIA black sites in other countries. They have been shown for what they are to lots of people who keep up with world events.
As for the speech Assad made? Most of it seems to be legit. All the demands that the protestors originally wanted (except Assad stepping down) where met. Now we have continued fighting that has destroyed more then half the country and what are the demands? It isn't democracy. It's for another Afghanistan ruled by a talibanesque regime in which all minorities will be ethnic cleansed.
With Assad the people have at least a chance. With these other guys who are a part of this "revolution", the people have no chance.
Jabhat al Nusra in North Syria Burning 3 innocent kurdish people Alive - NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAKv8-FBIN0
Abbas also said the Taliban leader's title as caliph was not an inherent challenge to other Muslim rulers.
"We call Mohammed Omar caliph, but that does not mean he represents all Muslims in the world," he said.
ISIS is a rebranding of al Qaeda in Iraq. The state department has classified them as one of many aliases of al Qaeda. Since al Qaeda has used child suicide bombers in Iraq (to kill over 1000 people mostly Shiites just this month because they are genocidal) it figures that they are doing the same tactics and recruiting in Syria. Who else could you say is doing such evil deeds? Al Nusra? Probably another one of the organizations that you think are the good guys Liger?
You can say whatever you want but the problem is that notions of a "caliphate" are ancient history that only the most rapid destructive fanatics believe in trying to impose. Some of those being the Taliban. You can deny all you want but the truth is what it is.
And yes Liger05 you gave one line to the children who are being brainwashed in refugee camps to commit suicide bombings and become cannon fodder for the criminals of the fee Syrian army. How dare you deny the ugliness and down right evil of the side you support?!?
The fact remains that most of the Sunnis in Syria hate the side you support Liger05. Most of the Sunnis would rather those "rebels" die because they have destroyed most of their country. That is why the majority Sunni army of the Syrian Arab Army will continue fighting and blasting away the terrorists you cheer on until there are none left in Syria. And they won't need to use one child to do it.
Gotta love the speculation.
Is that all you have? Glib dismissive one liners?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_Syria
http://www.vice.com/read/i-ate-ice-cream-with-a-member-of-al-qaeda-in-syria
There's some more reading info since you ignored everything else I posted. It's sad that you support two factions of Al-Qaeda in Iraq which have killed over 1000 people last July in Iraq alone with suicide bombings and car bombings because they where the wrong religion.
Are you going to address EVERYTHING I have posted or are you just going to do more glib and dismissive one liners while you promote sectarian terrorist death squads?
Although JNs Salafist goal of establishing an Islamic state under Sharia law does not accord with the idea of a democratic Syria that many moderate opposition fighters hopes to see, JN has proven to be an effective fighting force against the Assad regime, and FSA groups have cooperated tactically with JN on many occasions.[3] Jabhat al-Nusra has employed a cautious strategy in Syria, making efforts to avoid alienating the Syrian population and the FSA. This strategy has included avoiding civilian targets and taking care to minimize civilian casualties when methods like suicide bombings are employed, downplaying sectarian rhetoric,[4] and selecting a name without controversial or partisan connotations.[5] By all accounts this strategy has been successful, allowing JN to continue to gain supporters and prestige in a conflict where its ultimate goal is fundamentally anathema to the underpinnings of the larger revolution. In December 2012, JN was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States,[6] and in April 2013 it formally acknowledged its affiliation with al-Qaeda.[7] These developments have both complicated U.S. and European calculations to provide support to the rebels and exacerbated the tensions that marked the relationships between the moderate opposition and the jihadi groups. - See more at: http://www.understandingwar.org/bac...ws-its-true-colors-syria#sthash.JYT9lpCx.dpuf
As JN gained strength in Syria, fissures began to appear in its relationship with its parent organization, ISI. The tension was made public in April of 2013 when Baghdadi released a statement that JN and ISI were officially merging under the name Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, (ISI(S))[8]a claim which was quickly rebuffed by Julani, who said he had never been informed of any merger.[9] Julani overtly acknowledged JNs allegiance to al-Qaeda in the same statement.Julani indicated that the reason JN held off so long on proclaiming their al-Qaeda affiliation was due to its efforts to understand a Sharia policy that is appropriate for al-Sham reality, thereby indicating that JN had no intention of merging with ISI to form a pan-Syrian/Iraqi caliphate. JN also implicitly rebuffed Baghdadi for ISIs hardline methods in Iraq in what was likely an attempt to retain JNs standing among the wider Syrian opposition.[10] - See more at: http://www.understandingwar.org/bac...ws-its-true-colors-syria#sthash.JYT9lpCx.dpuf
After this exchange of public claims between ISI and JN, Jabhat al-Nusra appeared infrequently in reports of rebel clashes, and JNs official media outlet al-Manara al-Bayda went quiet.[11] May 2013, however, witnessed a proliferation of videos claiming to be from ISI(S).[12] During this time there was speculation that Baghdadi had come out on top and that JN was collapsing.[13] Then, in early June, a letter from al-Qaedas leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was published by Al Jazeera.[14] While Zawahiris letter reprimanded both parties for their role in the dispute, he effectively supported Julanis positions: Baghdadis original claim of unification was a rogue move, The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant was dissolved, and ISI and JN were instructed to continue operations as independent entities under the al-Qaeda umbrella, each confined to their own geographic arenas. - See more at: http://www.understandingwar.org/bac...ws-its-true-colors-syria#sthash.JYT9lpCx.dpuf
Abbas also said the Taliban leader's title as caliph was not an inherent challenge to other Muslim rulers.
"We call Mohammed Omar caliph, but that does not mean he represents all Muslims in the world,"
Is that all you have? Glib dismissive one liners?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_Syria
http://www.vice.com/read/i-ate-ice-cream-with-a-member-of-al-qaeda-in-syria
There's some more reading info since you ignored everything else I posted. It's sad that you support two factions of Al-Qaeda in Iraq which have killed over 1000 people last July in Iraq alone with suicide bombings and car bombings because they where the wrong religion.
Are you going to address EVERYTHING I have posted or are you just going to do more glib and dismissive one liners while you promote sectarian terrorist death squads?
Security analysts have expressed concern over the capture of al-Menagh airbase by the group Jaish al-Muhajireen wa Ansar - which is made up almost exclusively of foreigners, including Britons, other Europeans and North Americans. The faction is led by Abu Omar al-Shishani, a veteran jihadist from Georgia who cut his teeth in the Caucuses fighting Russian troops.
The sprawling airbase which boasts a runway capable of accomodating fighter jets and trainer bombers has been a target for Syrian rebels for almost a year. Troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad finally capitulated on Monday after Jaish al-Muhajireen breached the perimetre with suicide bomb attacks and anti-tank missiles.
Charles Lister, an analyst with IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, has seen videos, including the one below in which Westerners talk about their battle against the regime and call for support in English, French, German and Spanish as well as Arabic.
Mr Lister has been tracking the rise of the Jaish al-Muhajireen since last year as it has become one of the most effective fighting forces in the uprising against President Assad.
"The value of this base is hugely symbolic," he said. "It's the first big base seizure by the opposition for several months. But because it is under the control of the Jihadist groups it shows the importance of their role in the fighting."
Jaish al-Muhajireen operates in close alignment with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams, the leading al-Qaeda backed group in Syria. It is allied to Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian extremist proscribed as terrorists by the US government.
The mainstream Syrian rebel group, the Free Syria Army celebrated the capture of Minnagh airbase.
Its chief in Aleppo, Abdul-Jabbar al-Aqidi told a meeting that the Western backed body was providing weapons to the Islamists. He was captured on video confirming the transfers three days ago.
The development came as Michael Morell, the outgoing acting director of CIA, warned that Syria's weapons were up for grabs as foreign fighters poured into the conflict.
He said the fallout from the Syria conflict posed the greatest threat to America's security. "It's probably the most important issue in the world today," he told the Wall Street Journal.
Satellite images show destruction of Aleppo
Amnesty International has released satellite images showing the destruction of Syria’s most populous city, Aleppo, in the north of the war-ravaged country.
Gripped by more than a year of conflict the thriving commercial hub has been transformed into a series of battlefields and front lines, its residents struggling to live on amid the widespread disease, dirty water and crippling food shortages.
The aerial pictures show the extent of the destruction of the city, one of the oldest and most historically rich in the world. The Ancient City of Aleppo is a Unesco World Heritage site, this year placed on the UN organisation's list of World Heritage in Danger.
“Aleppo has been utterly devastated, its people fleeing the conflagration in huge numbers," said Amnesty International's Senior Crisis Response Adviser Donatella Rovera.
In a statement, the rights group said the images showed "alarming trends in how the conflict is being fought: with utter disregard for the rules of International Humanitarian Law, causing extensive destruction, death, and displacement”.
Conversations with several FSA brigade leaders reveal a rudderless revolution that is barely managing to stay a afloat as foreign Jihadists inundate Syria. They complain that if the West does not act soon, all that will be left to salvage is the sunken hopes of a people who desperately wanted an end to five decades of oppression at the hands of the Assad family.
Abu Munthir, a bulky man with a Rottweiler glare, is not eager to tell his story. He hesitates before opening up about his experiences. At first we worked with the Jihadists, says the 28-year old speaking in the Turkish town of Reyhanli. They had skills we needed and were good fighters. But soon they began pushing us out and we were too weak to stop them.
...
In the coastal province of Latakia which constitutes the regimes stronghold, tensions exploded in July after the ISI killed senior FSA leader Kamal Hamami, known to his fighters as Abu Basir al-Ladkani. They set up a trap for Abu Basir and ambushed him, explained 28-year old FSA fighter Khalid Bustani in a Skype call from the province. The FSA declared an all-out war against the ISI, but in its weakened state could not do much more than engage in verbal saber rattling. We are too weak to fight them, Bustani says. We dont even have ammunition.
As usual Najdi rumors range from wishful thinking to delusional.
Live on tv an hour ago, he wasn't delayed nor did he limp, it's a good day when millions of desperate insha'allah wails get crushed by reality.
News coming in that Assad's convoy has been fired on in an ambush and he has been wounded. Not confirmed yet, but a sign that things are changing fast in the country. Over The last few days a lot of gains have been made by the rebels in the north of the country, flanking the Assadists. Many major Alawi religious figures have been captured, at least according to the reports I have read.
A pretty good depiction of the current situation: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/0...evolution-rebels-beg-west-for-more-firepower/