Video: Syrian Army Eliminates ISIS-Daesh Fighters in Al-Safa. Russian Forces Go Home, Washington Obstructs Return of Refugees to Syria

By South Front
Global Research, August 22, 2018
South Front 21 August 2018
Region:
Theme: ,
In-depth Report:

Note to readers: please click the share buttons above  

About 100 ISIS members have been killed in the area of al-Safa in the southern Syrian desert since pro-government forces started the active phase of their military operation there.

According to pro-government sources, this number is likely to grow further because clashes are still ongoing in the area.

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) repelled an attack by Idlib militants on a post located south of the village of Tal al-Touqan in the southern part of Idlib province. SAA artillery units also engaged militant positions west of Tal al-Touqan.

Two hundred Military Police servicemen have returned from Syria to their base in Russia’s Southern Military District. Earlier, according to official reports, 35 planes and helicopters, flight officers, a medical unit of special purpose and military police officers had already returned to their home bases in Russia.

According to satellite imagery available online, the Russian Aerospace Forces are keeping in Syria at least 9 Su-24M2, 6 Su-34 and Su-35 warplanes as well as an unknown number of attack and military transport helicopters, UAVs and support planes.

Washington is trying to slow down the return of refugees to Syria by refusing to participate in the restoration of the country’s infrastructure, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on August 20 as he met with Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.

At the same time, Bassil said that his country supports Russia’s initiative on Syrian refugees and hopes that it will be employed.

On August 15, Russian Foreign Ministry representative Nikolai Burtsev said that about 11m Syrians are currently considered forcibly displaced persons, 6m of those have become refugees within the country.

In Iraq, late on August 19th, a US serviceman was killed and several others injured when their helicopter crashed after participating in a raid on an ISIS target. The Pentagon said that there is no evidence indicating that the helicopter may have been downed by enemy fire.

The US military did not provide further details into the incident. However, according  to media reports, the helicopter involved was a MH-60 Black Hawk operated by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

*

If you’re able, and if you like our content and approach, please support the project. Our work wouldn’t be possible without your help: PayPal: [email protected] or via: http://southfront.org/donate/ or via: https://www.patreon.com/southfront, 
Articles by: South Front

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

For media inquiries: [email protected]