Source: SyriaNews
Reports from a friend in Syria state that 23 people have been killed and 65 injured in a terrorist attack in Latakia. Four mortars fell at a bus stop outside Tishreen University, when many young university students were waiting to commute home after attending classes.

The attack with such a high casualty figure on the strategic city was unprecedented since a foreign-backed conflict began in Syria in March 2011.

Latakia, whose history dates back to the 4th century BCE, had been a safe city, so unscathed that it had been able to absorb thousands of internally displaced persons, escaping Western-led terrorism against the Syrian Arab Republic. Its inviolability was shattered, on 13 August, 2015, when a vehicle near the al Assad University Hospital was remotely detonated. Four days later, “moderate” mass murderers bombed the bus terminal, and numerous neighborhoods, with nine missiles. Another round of slaughter occurred 3 September, when Obama’s coward-moderate terrorists remotely blew up a van, filled with explosives, outside the Imad Ali School, in al Hamam Square, murdering 10, and injuring 25 (the death count reached 16); the empire’s BBC lead photo was of bombed vehicles, with the gleeful caption that “activists said it was the biggest car bomb…”.

These attacks come after major battles by the SAA and allies against ISIL and Jubat al Nusra terrorists which have seen scores of them dead and the retaking of Kwairis Air Base.

By Lilly Martin
Source: OpedNews
The situation here in Latakia is calm. The city itself is safe. We have not had any recent missile attacks, and that is good. The rural countryside is full of terrorists, and especially the village called Selma (aka Salma). This is a small village in the hilly area North East of Latakia. You can find Slounfa on the map, which is a mountain resort town 1 hour drive due East of Latakia. It is a bit higher elevation than Selma. Selma is very close to Slounfa, and sits to the North West of Slounfa.

The problem with Selma is that it is within walking distance of Turkey. Since Turkey has supported and sponsored the Jihadist, and Radical Islamic ideology attackers on Syria since 2011, these terrorists have a safe-haven in Turkey. They receive their paychecks there as well as receive all forms of supplies and medical care there. The Turkish businessmen of the Syrian border region have been milking the Syrian conflict for every US dollar and Saudi Rial they can get. They are also the men who are making money hand over fist in shipping the Syrian refugees to Greece, on their journey to Europe.

The government of Turkey is following a Radical Islamic ideology, even though Turkey was founded on secular and democratic ideals. Some of the Turkish people go along with this new Radical Islamic trend, and others are very much against it, and want to defend their secular and modern democratic traditions. There is currently a huge political divide in Turkey among the population. There is an upcoming election which may either settle the issue, or could possibly lead to an uprising and revolution in Turkey from the grassroots level. Will we see the “Turkish Winter”? The future of Turkey is at stake.

Selma was infiltrated very early in 2011. Because of the borderline location, the terrorists can literally walk back and forth, and so they receive everything they need, quickly and easily. When Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona made his historic visit to the Free Syrian Army, aka FSA, he entered Syria illegally very close to Selma and had his meeting with FSA commander Selim Idriss in their HQ not far from Selma.

Selma has been occupied by terrorists, protected by Turkey, and during this long occupation they have dug many tunnels, so they can go into Turkey and come back safely, without ever showing their face above ground.

In mid-August 2013 the FSA attacked a small village near Slounfa called Ballouta. That night they went house to house and massacred 220 unarmed civilians sleeping in their homes. Men, women and children were massacred, including an unborn fetus, which was cut out of the mother’s belly, and hung in the trees. George Sabra, one of the founders and still a moving force of the Syrian National Coalition (located in Istanbul) , aka SNC, openly praised the FSA for their attack on Ballouta. The FSA is the armed wing of the SNC. The SNC are recognized by the Obama administration as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people (aka Syrian opposition).

Besides the massacre, that same night they kidnapped over 100 children and several teenaged females. Initially, we thought those kidnap victims would be taken to Turkey and possibly sold as sex slaves to Saudi men. We also contemplated the possibility that they could have been taken to Turkey and used for organ harvesting, with the organs and eyes sold to wealthy Turkish and Saudi persons.

However, 9 months later, 44 of the kidnapped children were released in a famous ‘deal’ made between the FSA and Syrian government. That deal allowed terrorists in the Old City of Homs to come out unharmed, with their rifle and 1 bag of belongings, and they were bused to the Idlib area. The other side of the deal was the releasing of hundreds of Syrian civilians who had been held hostage by the terrorists, and the release of the 44 children from Selma.

At the hospital, the children of Ballouta were examined and interviewed. They said they had been held the 9 months underground in Selma. Many reports of torture and killing and abuse were also made known. They recalled that one of the kidnappers spoke English with an Australian accent, as well as spoke Arabic with a Latakian accent. That kidnapped was later identified as a well known Islamic leader from Sydney, Australia who had ties to the Australian political scene, as well as the Australian Islamic community.

The tunnels of Selma are extensive, and that is where the kidnapped children had been held. The fate of the other half of the children is still not known.
The main battles in an around Latakia are at Selma. On a map, you might ask why on earth can’t Selma be liberated from the terrorists? It appears to be so small, and remote. However, it is surrounded by 5 hills, and the Syrian Arab Army must take all of those hills in order to walk into Selma and start hand to hand combat. It is a hard and dangerous process.

The general feeling among Latakia residents is hopeful and waiting for peace to return. People have started to make plans again, and to shop and enjoy going out to eat again. Everyone had felt despair and loss of hope. People felt they were facing evacuation.

Many people have left to go to Germany. Not all of them were poor. Many of them were middle class and upper middle class. Many had homes with no mortgage, they had offices or shops and they had cars. Some sold off everything to finance their trip to Germany. Some already had the 5,000 Euros on hand, and just locked up their homes and properties. The really poor people are sleeping in tents inside Syria, or in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. The people you see on TV walking through Macedonia and Serbia and Croatia have money and are paying their own way to Germany. Nothing is for free. I wish there was a free migration program for people who really have nothing, but that is not on offer. I currently have many relatives and friends who have made the journey through Europe from Syria.

Lastly, I don’t harshly judge any person leaving Syria. We have all suffered almost 5 years of death and destruction. Many people have lost hope, or just want to start a new life in a new place. Since Germany and Sweden are offering lucrative free welfare packages, many are taking advantage of the offer, before Europe decides change it’s mind and shut the doors. There are indeed some refugees in Europe who have suffered greatly and deserve help, probably more than others, but if the help is freely offered, then it is something to be considered. I have chosen to remain in Syria for as long as possible, and many others share my way of thinking, but I do not ridicule anyone looking for safety and hope of a better future.

Lilly Martin: “I am an American living permanently in Syria. I am a human rights activist. I am a medical professional, and I write on events in Syria since March 2011 which I have witnessed myself.”

Source: Sputnik News
The Syrian Army liberated two villages in the north of the Syrian Latakia province in about 12 miles from the border with Turkey over the past 24 hours, a military source said Saturday.

The Syrian army has continued its ground operation in the territory captured by terrorists.

“We started the offensive overnight into Saturday, now I can say exactly that… [two villages] located 4 kilometers [2.5 miles] away from us [Aramo village], were fully mopped up, the advance on Salma [village] continues,” the source told RIA Novosti.

Syrian General Staff Lt.-Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayyoub said Thursday that the country’s Armed Forces had launched a large-scale operation to retake occupied areas from the terrorists.

The Syrian government’s forces launched the offensive after Russia’s Sukhoi Su-25, Su-24M and Su-34 attack aircraft, with the support of Su-30 jets, had commenced precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria on September 30, following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, airstrikes have done considerable damage to ISIL command and logistics networks, as well as to infrastructure used to equip suicide bombers.

Earlier today, political chief of the Syrian Army General Samir Suleiman said that over the past day the government’s forces had cleared a small valley 25 kilometers away from the city of Idlib of Nusra Front militants.

By The Saker
Source: The Unz Review: An Alternative Media Selection
I think that a week after Ynet broke the story about a Russian military intervention in Syria we can confidently say that that this was a typical AngloZionist PSYOP aimed at inhibiting the Russian involvement in the Empire’s war against Syria and that it had no basis in reality.

Or did it?

It turns out that there was a small kernel of truth to these stories. No, Russia was not sending “MiG-31s to bomb Daesh”, nor is Russian going to send an SSNB (submarine armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles) to the Syrian coast. All these rumors are utter nonsense. But there are increasing signs that Russia is doing two thing:

1) increasing her diplomatic involvement in the Syrian conflict

2) delivering some unspecified but important military gear to Syria

The second item is the one which is most interesting. Needless to say, as is typical in these cases, the actual contents of the cargo Russia is sending by air and sea is not made public, but we can speculate. First, we know that Syria needs a lot of spare parts and equipment repairs. This war has been going on for 4 years now and the Syrians have made intensive use of their equipment. Second, the Syrians lack some battlefield systems which could greatly help them. Examples of that include counter-battery radars (radars which spot where the enemy’s artillery is shooting from) and electronic warfare systems. Furthermore, Russian sources are saying that Syria needs more armored personnnel carriers.

We know that Russia and Syria have long standing military contracts and we know that Russia is now delivering her heavy equipment by sea and the lighter systems by air. Does all that indicate some kind of game changer?

No. At least not at this point in time.

So why the AngloZionist panic?

My feeling is that one thing which makes them so nervous is that the Russian apparently have chosen the city of Latakia as their “delivery point”. Unlike Damascus, Latakia is an ideal location: it is safe but not too far away from the frontlines, and it is relatively near the Russian base in Tartus. The airport and naval port are also reportedly easy to protect and isolate. There are already reports that the Russians have lengthened the runways and improved the infrastructure at the Latakia airport and that heavy AN-124s have been observed landing there. As for the Russian Navy – it has been sending ships to the Latakia airport.

In other words, instead of limiting themselves to Tartus or going into the very exposed Damascus, the Russians appear to have created a new bridgehead in the north of the country which could be used to deliver equipment, and even forces, to the combat area in the north of the country.

This, by the way, would also explain the panicked rumors about the Russians sending in their Naval Infantry units from Crimea to Syria: Naval Infantry forces are ideal to protect such a base and considering that the front lines are not that far, it would make perfect sense for the Russians to secure their bridgehead with these units.

Furthermore, while heavy equipment is typically sent by the sea, the Russians can deliver their air defense systems by air: The AN-124 is more than capable of transporing S-300s. That fact alone would explain the AngloZionist panic.

What appears to be happening is this: the Russians are, apparently, sending some limited but important gear to provide immediate assistance to the Syrian forces. In doing so, they have also created the conditions to keep their options open. So while there is not massive Russian intervention taking place, something has definitely shifted in the Syrian conflict.

I would like to add here that while the government forces have recently lost the Idlib air base in the north of the country (and not too far from Latakia), all my sources confirm to me that the Syrian forces are in a much better position than Daesh and that the war is going very badly for the Takfiris. The Syrians have recently freed the city of Zabadan and they are on the offensive in most locations and while it is true that Daesh still controls a lot of land, most of that is desert.

To summarize the above I would say this: the AngloZionists are freaking out because their war against Syria has failed; while Daesh has created havoc and terror in several countries, there are many signs that the local countries are gradually becoming determined to do something. The US has also failed to get rid of Assad, the massive refugee crisis has triggered a major political crisis in Europe, and now the Europeans are looking at Assad in a dramatically different light than before. Russia has clearly decide to get politically involved with all the regional powers, effectively displacing the USA, and there are pretty good indications that the Russians are keeping their options open. And while there are absolutely no reasons to suspect that Russia is planning a major military intervention in the conflict in terms of quantity, there are signs that the Russian support has risen to a new qualitative level.

Two things need to be stressed here:

First, on a political level, it is still exceedingly unlikely that Russia would take any major unilateral action in this war. While Syria is a sovereign country and while a Syrian-Russian agreement is enough to legally justify any military move agreed to by both parties, Russia will try hard not to act alone. This explains why Foreign Ministery Lavrov is trying so hard to create some kind of coalition.

Second, on a military level, the country to look at is not Russia but Iran. The Iranians have a safe and secure land-line to Syria (via northern Iraq) and they have the kind of combat forces which could be successfully engage against Daesh. The same goes for Hezbollah which has, and will in the future, send its elite forces to support the Syrians in strategically vital areas. Should there be a need for a major ground operation in support of the Syrian forces, these are the forces we should expect to intervene, not the Russians.

In conclusion I would say that what we see taking place it “typical Putin”: while western leaders typically prefer high visibility actions which bring immediate (but short term) results, Putin prefers to let his opponent inflict the maximal amount of damage upon himself before intervening in gradual, slow steps. The unleashing of Daesh by the AngloZionists was a kind of a “political shock and awe” which did almost overthrow the Syrian government. When that initial “fast-acting” but short term strategy failed, Assad was still there, but Daesh had turned into a Golem monster which threatened everybody and which nobody could control. As for Assad, he was gradually downgraded from being a “new Hitler” gassing his own people into somebody who will clearly be a part of the solution (whatever “solution” will eventually emerge).

The lesson for all those who resist the Empire is obvious: the hardest thing is to remain standing after the first “blow” delivered by the imperial forces. If you can survive it (as the Donbass and Syria have done), then time is on your side and the position of the Empire will begin to weaken slowly but surely because of its own internal contradictions. When that process being, you must not fall into the trap of over-committment, but gradually occupy each position (political or other) given up by the Empire in the process of the disintegration while securing your own each step of the way.

It is way too early for any triumphalism – Daesh is still here, and so are the Ukronazis in Kiev, and the Empire has not given up on them quite yet. The good news is that the tide has now visibly turned and while there is still a long struggle ahead, the eventual defeat of the Takfiris and Nazis appears to be inevitable.