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November 16th, 2015 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : The Syrian Arab Army reports advances under Russian air cover throughout the country. Meanwhile, Syrian, Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish groups increasingly assume the position of the wildcard in a complex game of geopolitics.
The Syrian Arab Army reports about progress in the provinces of Homs, Daraa, Sweida, Latakia, Aleppo, and Hama reports the Syrian State news agency SANA, quoting official military sources. Progress in securing sovereignty on the ground is made under both Syrian and Russian air cover.
In Homs the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) reportedly confronted Daesh (a.k.a. ISIS or ISIL) insurgents in the villages of Hawarin, Housh Abu Faraj, Meheen town and its surroundings and at al-Mustaoda’at area in the countryside of Homs central province.
In Daraa all members of an (unspecified) terrorist organization were reportedly killed to the south of the Syriatel building in operations targeting supply routes in the province. Infighting between rivaling insurgencies reportedly assists the Syrian Army too. The Al-Qaeda linked Jabhat al-Nusrah reported that it killed the commander of the “Shuhada al-Yarmouk Brigade”, Abu Ali al-Baridi in a suicide bombing.
In Sweida the SAA confronted Daesh fighters in the village of Khirbet Sa’dand in the al-Ghabeb valley, reportedly inflicting heavy losses. Meanwhile, the SAA also established control over more villages north of Latakia, a region that is vital for Russian air support. A military spokesperson stated on Monday that the Army established control over the villages of Deir Hanna, al-Daghmashliyeh, Bait Aiyash and the Medakhat Ghamam area in the northern countryside of the coastal the Lattakia province. Operations were reportedly coordinated with the Russian air force. The Syrian air force, for its part targeted insurgents in the villages and towns of al-Zweik and Rabiaa in the northeastern countryside of the province.
In Aleppo the Syrian air force targeted al-Nusrah and other insurgencies to the north of the village of Pashkoi and in al-Mansoura village in the northern and western countryside of Aleppo province. The Syrian Arab Army, for its part, confronted hideouts, vehicles and gatherings of Daesh fighters in the villages of Akouleh, Aharbaa, Aran and Shamawiyeh in Aleppo eastern countryside. So-called hotbeds of terrorist organizations, including arms and ammunition depots were reportedly also destroyed in the neighborhoods of al-Rashedeen1, al-Rashedeen4, Salah al-Deen and al-Ameriyeh, stated a military source, speaking to the State news agency SANA. Army units were also engaged in clashes around Kafr Hamra, Tal Msaibeen and al-Twaihna north of Aleppo city, as well as in al-Mansoura and Khan al-Assal.
West al-Nairab city and Barqoum city 27 km south of Aleppo city, the SAA confronted insurgents belonging to al-Jabha al-Islamiya as well as Jabhat al-Nusrah. The SAA also confronted Daesh insurgents in operations in Tal Istabel, Shweilekh and Najara.
In Hama a SAA unit reportedly destroyed fortified positions and a site belonging to “Jaish al-Fatah” during concentrated operations against their gatherings in Attshan village to the north of Hama city, which resulted in the killing of 10 terrorists, including Firas al-Saleh, who was a leader in Jabhat al-Nusrah terrorist organization.
The SAA also engaged in combat with Jabhat al-Nusrah, Jund al-Aqsa and Ahrar al-Sham resulted in killing 32 terrorists, including Ahmad Khaled al-Bakri, and in destroying one of their positions, 2 armored vehicles, and 5 vehicles transporting weapons and ammunition. Another army unit reportedly launched strikes against the gatherings and fortified positions of the Ajnad al-Sham in in Kafr Zita village northwest of Hama city, killing 9 terrorists including Ahmad al-Zalf, Mohamed al-Nakar and Ahmad Abad al-Aziz al-Mahmoud, while 5 others were injured.
The Kurdish Wildcard
Meanwhile, the Syrian – Kurdish YPG, which is fighting in a loosely-knit alliance with Turkish PKK fighters and Iraqi Peshmerga, is reportedly turning its back on Damascus and aims at the establishment of an independent Kurdish State or State construct. The Kurdish situation in the region is extremely complex and could become the wildcard in the Syrian, Iraqi and Turkish theater.
To briefly deconstruct the Syrian situation. The Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga are largely supported by the United States and several EU member States while Turkey does not mind doing business, such as illegal oil deals with the Iraqi Kurdish administration as long as it does not interfere into the Turkish – Kurdish theater. The Turkish – Kurdish PKK on the other hand, is also fighting Daesh. The PKK is, however, a traditional Soviet now Russian proxy.
While the PKK weakens Turkey’s and by implication NATO’s eastern flank in Turkey, the PKK would pose a strategic threat to Russia if it becomes part of NATO’s “Kurdish Corridor” project that is part of a plan to spread low-intensity conflicts along the Russian Federation’s southern flank.
The Syrian – Kurdish YPG, for its part, has thus far been loyal to Damascus. A change in policy and a greater western-backed alliance between the YPG, PKK, Peshmerga and NATO (with exemption of Turkey) could significantly change the regional dynamics. It is a development that has to and probably is being followed closely by Ankara, Damascus, Washington and Moscow. The problem with assessing the Kurdish wildcard is that it is not played openly.
At this time it’s anyone’s guess how the geopolitical situation will develop. It is noteworthy that Kurds are the world’s largest ethnic group and people without a sovereign nation. Their status as a people, has largely been dictated by the Ottoman Empire, the European colonial era, and the post WW II division of the world in hegemonic blocks at Yalta. Thus far, Kurds have literally been held in a legal limbo dictated by regional and global superpowers.
CH/L – nsnbc 16.11.2015
Source Article from http://nsnbc.me/2015/11/16/syrian-arab-army-advances-under-russian-aircover-the-kurdish-wildcard/
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