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Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

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51 Syrians Killed in One Day, Celebrations After Turkish-Russian Truce in Northwestern Provinces, Putin Capitulates to Israel

September 28, 2018 

Editor's Note:

The following news stories are just examples of the daily horrors of war in Syria. Readers can find more detailed daily news stories at the sources below as well as many other sources in the internet. 

 

 
Syrians demonstrating in opposition-held Idlib, celebrating Russian-Turkish agreement on truce, a rare scene
after years of death and destruction, September 26, 2018
 

 

Over twenty Islamic State members killed in coalition airstrikes, east of Syria

by Nehal Mostafa Sep 25, 2018, 11:50 pm

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) --

At least twenty Islamic State members were killed in airstrikes carried out by the U.S.-led Coalition on Tuesday against the militant group’s pockets in Hajin city, east of Syria’s Deir Ez-Zor province.

In a statement, the Syrian Democratic Forces said “troops managed to liberate al-Shajla region after many militants were killed and their weapons were seized.”

The militants, according to the statement, “carried out attacks against our troops in Hajin, however, we were able to confront them. The International Coalition carried out airstrikes against IS locations, leaving 21 militants killed and two booby-trapped vehicles destroyed.”

Moreover, “Six SDF personnel were killed during the recent battles, while eight others were wounded.” The militant group has recently intensified attacks against SDF and the coalition forces, deployed east of Euphrates.

SDF is in control of 28 percent of the Syrian lands, which makes it the second main force that control territories after the regime forces, which control around 60 percent.

The following are news stories from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) website (http://www.syriahr.com/en/):

***

The calm prevails areas of the Russian – Turkish truce in conjunction with preparations for mass demonstrations in its areas for the 5th consecutive week

SOHR, 28/09/2018

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored cautious calm in areas of the Russian – Turkish truce in Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Idlib since after midnight of yesterday until now, but intercepted with heavy machine-gun targeting by the regime forces for places in Tal al-Sakher area in the northern countryside of Hama, and in the same context.

The Syrian Observatory monitored preparations underway for a mass demonstration expected to take place on the afternoon of today, the 28th of September 2018, for the 5th consecutive week, where the Syrian Observatory published last week that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that mass demonstrations went out within the controlled areas of the opposition.

This included the provinces of Idlib, Hama and Aleppo, in response to calls for demonstrations, which has been continuing for the 4th consecutive week, despite reaching an agreement between the presidents of Russia and Turkey on establishing a separating demilitarized area, which has prevented until now, carrying out the regime forces’ military operation for which the regime mobilized its forces in the recent weeks, and the Syrian Observatory monitored that demonstrations went out in tens of cities, towns and village.

The demonstrations took place in Azaz, Al-Bab, Qebbasin, Darat Izza, Anjara, Kafr Hamra, Qebtan al-Jabal, Babis, Turmanin, Andan, Ihtemlat, Hayyan, Kaljibrin, Jandairis, Sharran, Maabatli, Al-Jinah, Kafr Nasih, al-Atareb, Kafr Naha, Tall Hadiya, Sandara, Bizaah, Jarabulus, , Al-Ra’I, in the countryside of Aleppo, and Idlib city, Binnish, Jisr Al-Shughur, Darkush, al-Hamama, Janudiyyeh, Meshmeshan, Kastan, Bashiriyya, Azmareen, the villages of Sahel Al-Rouj, Muhambal, Armanaz, , Kafr Sarjah, Kafr Nubl, Khan Shaykhun, Jubas, Dadikh, Khan Al-Sabil, Maarrat al-Nu’man, Kafr Sejneh, Rayyan, Mardikh, Maar Dibsah, Kelli, Hazzano, Sarmada, Qurqanya, Al-Hbit, Kafr Rumah, Kafr Owaid, Harem, Maaret Herma, Madaya, Dana, Hish, Sheikh Idris, Maarrat Misrin, Hazarin, Al-Tah, Jirjnaz, al-Ftirah, Saraqib, in Idlib province, and Qal’aat al-Madiq, Shir Maghar, Murak, Al-Lataminah, Twinah, Al-Shari’aa, Hawija, Hawash, Al-Huwayz, Al-Amaqiyyah, Al-Ankawi, Al-Ziyarah and Al-Zakah in Hama countryside.

***

51 people were killed yesterday including 7 members of the regime forces and their allied militiamen, and 5 persons were killed in different circumstances in several Syrian areas

It rose to 4 citizens, the number of those who joined yesterday the convoy of martyrs of the Syrian revolution

SOHR, 26/09/2018

In Aleppo province, a young man was killed as a result of shelling by the regime forces on areas in Kafr Hamra town north-western countryside of Aleppo, and 3 citizens were killed one of them is an aged man were killed under torture by the factions of the Operation “Olive Branch”.

While a person was killed due to an explosion in Saraqeb area in the eastern countryside of Idlib, caused by an IED explosion south of Saraqeb.

While a leader of the “Islamic State” organization of Syrian nationality was killed in strikes of the International Coalition that targeted areas in the organization-controlled enclave on the east banks of Euphrates river, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: the last 48 hours witnessed targeting al-Sha’afah area in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, which is controlled by the organization, which killed the leader known as “Abu Hamza al-Wali”, and the sources confirmed that the latter is Awwad al-Mekhlef of al-Tabaqa city, where he was released from the Syrian regime prisons in early 2011, and he was “the Wali of Raqqa” and before that he was the “Amir al-Tabaqa” and previously “Vice of al-Raqqah Wali”, where he was handed over the position of Wali “al-Raqqah State” after the battle of control of al-Tabaqa airport and being able to lead it with other leaders of the Organization.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also monitored the killing of 21 members of the organization in the last enclave of ISIS east of Euphrates, as a result of clashes and shelling by the Syria Democratic Forces and International Coalition, while 6 fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces were killed in the shelling and clashes in the same area.

While 8 members of the “Islamic State” organization were killed by air and ground shelling and in clashes against the regime forces in Rif Dimashq and the Syrian Desert.

And 7 members of the regime forces and their allied militiamen were killed as a result of the shelling and clashes with the “Islamic State” organization and the factions.

At least 3 fighters of the “Islamic State” organization and the factions of non-Syrian nationalities were killed in clashes and shelling of warplanes and helicopters and shelling on their areas of presence.

Putin Calls Downing of Russian Plane in Syria ‘Tragic’ and Absolves Israel

SOHR, 20/09/2018

Syrian forces accidentally shot down a Russian military plane after an Israeli airstrike on Syrian territory, Kremlin officials said Tuesday, the worst case of friendly fire for Russia in the Syrian war.

The accident on Monday night briefly caused a crisis in Russia-Israel relations as the Kremlin blamed the Israelis, underscoring the risks of escalation from unintended consequences among the different forces operating in Syria.

All 15 Russian service members aboard were killed in the antiaircraft barrage that downed the plane, which had apparently been misidentified by Syrian gunners as Israeli.

Russia intervened in Syria three years ago to help President Bashar al-Assad prevail in a brutal civil war. The Russians have shown extraordinary tolerance toward Israel’s military, which has carried out more than 200 airstrikes over two years in Syria aimed at Iran-backed Shiite militias that Israel regards as a threat.

Despite anger by the Russian military, fears of a Russia-Israel confrontation were dampened by Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin. He blamed “a chain of tragic accidental circumstances,” and not just Israel, for the downing of the plane, an Ilyushin Il-20 surveillance aircraft.

Mr. Putin drew a distinction between the downing of a Russian fighter plane by Turkey in 2015, which he condemned at the time as a “stab in the back delivered by the accomplices of terrorists,” and Monday’s accident, “because an Israeli plane didn’t shoot our plane down.”

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry had angrily accused Israel of hiding its F-16s behind the Russian plane, effectively turning the less stealthy Russian Il-20 into a target for Syria’s antiaircraft missiles. Russia also suggested that Israel had abused the countries’ coordination system that is meant to avoid such accidents, by providing only a minute’s notice before its fighters struck a Syrian air base — too little time for the Russian plane to avoid the crossfire.

Image President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, left, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin, in Sochi, Russia, on Monday.CreditPool photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko

Russia’s defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, in remarks released Tuesday afternoon just as Mr. Putin was trying to calm anger at Israeli actions, said Israel had deliberately used the Russian surveillance plane as cover for its own warplanes “on the assumption that Syria’s air defenses would not be operating in that area.”

Russia, Mr. Shoigu told senior military officials, had informed Israel that “we are not going to leave such actions, such steps, unanswered,” the news agency Interfax reported.

In a telephone call later with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Mr. Putin, according to the Kremlin, complained that the Israeli Air Force had violated Syrian sovereignty and that “Russian-Israeli agreements on preventing dangerous incidents had not been observed, either, and that resulted in the Russian aircraft coming under Syrian air defense fire.”

But there was no mention in the Kremlin’s account of the telephone conversation of any warning of possible Russian retaliation.

***

The following are news stories from the US Department of Defense website (http://www.defense.gov/News) :

***

Operation Roundup targets ISIS remnants

Release No: 18-092 Sept. 25, 2018
Release # 20180925-01

September 25, 2018, SOUTHWEST ASIA –

Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve and its partners continue to pursue the lasting defeat of ISIS in designated parts of Iraq and Syria.
 
Operation Roundup, which began May 1 for the defeat of ISIS in the Middle Euphrates River Valley and Iraqi-Syrian border region, has continued to gain ground and remove terrorists from the battlefield through offensive operations coupled with precision Coalition strike support.
 
Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve and its partner forces' operations are exerting pressure on ISIS senior leaders and associates, as well as degrading, disrupting and dismantling ISIS organizational structures throughout Iraq and Syria.
 
Operation Roundup will continue to target ISIS remnants as the Coalition remains committed to the lasting defeat of ISIS to increase peace and stability in the region, and to protect all our homelands from ISIS's terrorist threat.
 
Weekly Strike Summary
 
Between September 17 and September 23, Coalition military forces conducted 78 strikes consisting of 114 engagements in Iraq and Syria.
 
On September 23 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes consisting of 17 engagements against ISIS targets.
•             Near Albu Kamal, 13 strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units, and destroyed one ISIS command and control center, one ISIS vehicle-borne IED, two fighting positions, one ISIS heavy weapon system, one ISIS IED and one ISIS compound and suppressed three ISIS mortars.
 
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on September 23, 2018.
 
On September 22 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of nine engagements against ISIS targets.
•             Near Albu Kamal, eight strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed four ISIS fighting positions, one ISIS vehicle, one ISIS vehicle-born IED and two ISIS supply routes and damaged one ISIS tunnel.
 
On September 22 in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted one strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets.
•             Near al-Ba’aj, one strike destroyed one ISIS weapons cache.
 
On September 21 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 12 engagements against ISIS targets.
•             Near Albu Kamal, seven strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units, and destroyed four ISIS fighting positions and three ISIS boats and damaged one ISIS tunnel.
 
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on September 21, 2018.
 
On September 20 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes consisting of 19 engagements against ISIS targets.
•             Near Albu Kamal, 11 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units, and destroyed one ISIS command and control center, one ISIS weapons cache, one ISIS staging area, two ISIS compounds, one ISIS supply route and two ISIS vehicles and damaged two ISIS vehicles and two ISIS compounds.
 
On September 20 in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted one strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets.
•             Near al-Rutbah, one strike destroyed one ISIS fuel supply truck.
 
On September 19 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes consisting of 26 engagements against ISIS targets.
•             Near Albu Kamal, 18 strikes engaged 11 ISIS tactical units, and destroyed three ISIS fighting positions, two ISIS command and control center, one ISIS vehicle, one ISIS vehicle-borne IED, one ISIS rocket launcher, one ISIS Structure, two ISIS staging areas, one ISIS machine gun, six ISIS supply routes and one ISIS tunnel and damaged two ISIS sites and suppressed one ISIS staging area.
 
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on September 19, 2018.
 
On September 18 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 13 engagements against ISIS targets.
•             Near Albu Kamal, eight strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units, and destroyed four ISIS fighting positions, one ISIS logistics hub and one ISIS command and control center and suppressed one ISIS mortar.
 
On September 18 in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted one strike consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets.
•             Near al-Anbar, one strike engaged one ISIS tactical unit.
 
On September 17 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 12 engagements against ISIS targets.
•             Near Albu Kamal, nine strikes engaged one ISIS tactical unit and destroyed one ISIS weapons cache, four ISIS fighting positions, one ISIS mortar firing point and one ISIS IED belt and suppressed one ISIS compound.
 
On September 17 in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted one strike consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets.
•             Near Makhmur, one strike destroyed one ISIS supply route.
 
 
This Coalition strike release contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing, or remotely piloted aircraft, rocket propelled artillery and ground-based tactical artillery.

***

Operation Roundup targets ISIS remnants

Release No: 18-091 Sept. 17, 2018
Release # 20180917-01

September 17, 2018, SOUTHWEST ASIA –

Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve and its partners continue to pursue the lasting defeat of ISIS in designated parts of Iraq and Syria.
 
Operation Roundup, which began May 1 for the defeat of ISIS in the Middle Euphrates River Valley and Iraqi-Syrian border region, has continued to gain ground and remove ISIS from the battlefield through offensive operations coupled with precision Coalition strike support.
 
Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve and its partner forces' operations are exerting pressure on ISIS senior leaders and associates, as well as degrading, disrupting and dismantling ISIS organizational structures throughout Iraq and Syria.
 
Operation Roundup will continue to target ISIS remnants as the Coalition remains committed to the lasting defeat of ISIS to increase peace and stability in the region, and to protect all our homelands from ISIS's terrorist threat.
 
Weekly Strike Summary
 
Between September 10 and September 16, Coalition military forces conducted
66 strikes consisting of 102 engagements in Iraq and Syria.
 
On September 16 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 13 engagements against ISIS targets.

•  Near Abu Kamal, six strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units, and
destroyed one ISIS command and control center, one ISIS vehicle-borne IED facility, one fighting position and one ISIS trench system and suppressed one ISIS mortar.
 
On September 16 in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted one strike consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets.
•  Near al-Asad, one strike destroyed one ISIS bunker and one ISIS
vehicle shelter.
 
On September 15 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 10 engagements against ISIS targets.
•  Near Abu Kamal, seven strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and
destroyed one ISIS explosive hazard, one ISIS fighting position, one ISIS mortar tube, one ISIS weapons cache and one ISIS heavy machine gun, and damaged five ISIS IED belts.
 
On September 15 in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted one strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets.
•  Near al-Kisik, one strike destroyed two ISIS tunnels.
 
On September 14 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes consisting of
23 engagements against ISIS targets.
•  Near Abu Kamal, 14 strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units, and
destroyed one ISIS vehicle, three ISIS supply routes, one ISIS mortar tube, two ISIS defensive fighting structures, three ISIS fighting positions and one ISIS staging area, and suppressed one mortar team.
 
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on September 14, 2018.
 
On September 13 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes consisting of 15 engagements against ISIS targets.
•  Near Abu Kamal, 12 strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units, and
destroyed nine ISIS supply routes, four ISIS fighting positions, one ISIS compound, one ISIS sentry location, one ISIS staging area and one ISIS counter battery fire and damaged one ISIS compound and suppressed two ISIS mortar firing points.
 
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on September 13, 2018.
 
On September 12 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes consisting of 26 engagements against ISIS targets.
•  Near Abu Kamal, 14 strikes engaged 11 ISIS tactical units, and
destroyed seven ISIS supply routes and one ISIS command and control center.
 
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on September 12, 2018.
 
On September 11 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 11 engagements against ISIS targets.
•  Near Abu Kamal, 10 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units, and
destroyed one ISIS heavy weapon, one ISIS technical vehicle and one ISIS engineering equipment and suppressed one ISIS mortar team.
 
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on September 11, 2018.
 
On September 10 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted one strike consisting of  one engagement against ISIS targets.
•  Near Abu Kamal, one strike engaged one ISIS tactical unit and
destroyed one ISIS crew-served weapon.
 
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on September 10, 2018.
 
This Coalition strike release contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing, or remotely piloted aircraft, rocket propelled artillery and ground-based tactical artillery.

***

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