The Palmyra Battle UPDATED 10:25am EST

UPDATE
From this Breaking News report from AMN, ISIS militants capture most of Palmyra city, it seems the following two reports are mostly bullshit. Well, what can one expect from war. 
END UPDATE

I'm going to start with the FARS report even though I'm still ticked off at them for reporting a few days ago that E. Aleppo had been completely liberated -- like a fool I bought it at first. It could be they misunderstood the initial intell reports that the Old City had been liberated. Anyhow:  

Over 300 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Russian-Syrian Joint Operation in Ancient Palmyra
December 11, 2016 - 12:57 [local time]
FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that Syrian Army soldiers with aerial support of Russian fighter jets fended off and ISIL attack near Palmyra last night, killing over 300 terrorists.

"During the (Saturday) night, Syrian government forces, actively supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces, repelled all attacks by (ISIL) terrorists on (government positions in) Palmyra. The invading side actively used car bombs, armor and rocket artillery systems," the ministry's statement read.

According to Moscow, the Russian warplanes conducted 64 airstrikes on the militants' positions and reserves, while eleven battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, 31 cars with heavy machineguns were destroyed, and over 300 militants were killed.

Reports said earlier today that the army troops with the back-up of the Russian and Syrian fighter jets managed to drive ISIL out of the neighborhoods they lost to the terrorists on Saturday, and imposed full control over the historical city of Palmyra (Tadmur) in Eastern Homs.

The army soldiers, backed up by the Russian and Syrian warplanes, pushed ISIL terrorists back from neighborhoods near Palmyra's entrance, inflicting major casualties on the militants.

ISIL carried out one more large-scale attack on government positions at the Eastern entrance of Palmyra on Saturday night. They took control of the strategic height of al-Tar in the Northern side of Palmyra and the village of al-Ameriyeh Northwest of the city. They further laid siege on the city.

As the ISIL terrorists were entering the Eastern districts of Palmyra, the army troops started to evacuate civilians from the city and transfer them to the T4 region and airport, but after arrival of reinforcements, the government forces carried out crushing attacks on the terrorists and retook some of the lost neighborhoods with the backing of the Russian and Syrian aircraft.

The army men, fresh forces and the Syrian and Russian fighter jets inflicted major losses on the militants and took back the village of al-Ameriyeh and the Eastern neighborhoods of Palmyra.

The government forces further targeted ISIL's movements and gatherings in the wheat silos and al-Tar height, inflicting major losses on them and pushing them back from most of these two regions.

Massdar news reported that the Russian Special Forces with the back-up of the Russian fighter jets and choppers played a crucial role in recapturing lost region in the Palmyra operation.

A field source said that the Syrian government forces are fortifying their position in the city to prevent any advance of the ISIL.

The sources added that the Takfiri terrorists [are trying] to maintain their position in Palmyra's outskirts, but the Russian and Syrian warplanes are targeting them continuously.

The source also said that an ISIL convoy of vehicles carrying a number of terrorists that had left al-Sukhnah region for Palmyra was destroyed in the air raids.

A military source also told RIA Novosti that the Syrian army managed to repel ISIL attack on Palmyra, regaining full control over the embattled city.

“Let me repeat that Palmyra is under the control of the Syrian army troops," the source said, adding that ISIL terrorists are carrying out intense attacks, but they have been repulsed.

[END FARS REPORT]

Now I turn to Sputnik:

Daesh Suffering Heavy Losses Trying to Seize Palmyra, Syrian Army Resisting
15:43 - 11.12.2016 (updated 16:08 - 11.12.2016)

Daesh terrorists have made another attempt to capture the city of Palmyra, Russia's center for Syrian reconciliation said on Sunday.

"Over 4,000 Daesh terrorists have regrouped and again tried to capture Palmyra," the center's statement said. The center noted Daesh had moved considerable forces from their stronghold of Raqqa after the US-backed offensive of Arab and Kurdish rebels was stalled. 

More forces and equipment were relocated from the vicinity of Deir ez-Zor. 

The center cited intelligence data that showed Daesh had moved up to 5,000 fighters to the cities of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor from the Iraqi stronghold of Mosul. 

[Pundita note: See also Daesh Moves Reserves to Palmyra [From Raqqa] Thanks to Pause in US-Controlled Raqqa Offensive and Daesh Moves 5,000 Terrorists to Syrian Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor From Iraqi Mosul - both reports filed today by Sputnik]

"Currently the Syrian troops are maintaining defense in Palmyra," the statement added.

 The Syrian army is being backed by Russian aircraft. 

"Despite huge losses, terrorists are trying to get closer to the city and entrench within the city, as the Russian Aerospace Forces do not target residential buildings in Palmyra," the statement said.

Terrorists launched their previous attack on the city on Saturday. Their offensive was thwarted by the actions of the government forces supported by Russian warplanes. 

Despite the defeat, the terrorists are again trying to attack the city from the northern, eastern and southern sides. Their perceived goal is to capture al-Amiriyah town northeast of Palmyra and a nearby industrial area, Syria's SANA news agency said.

 The Syrian Arab Army, backed by the Russian Aerospace Forces, liberated Palmyra in March, 2016, nearly a year after it was captured by Daesh, which is outlawed in Russia, in May 2015. During the invasion, the militants destroyed a number of ancient [sites], including necropolis, the Arch of Triumph, as well as the temples of Baal Shamin and Bel.

[END SPUTNIK REPORT]

********

Islamic State Moves 5,000 Fighters from Mosul to Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor

See also:  Daesh Moves Reserves to Palmyra [From Raqqa] Thanks to Pause in US-Controlled Raqqa Offensive (Sputnik)

Sputnik is reporting, below, on a statement from Russian military intelligence; if it's correct of course the question would be how that many fighters made it out of Mosul and into Syria.

15:39 - December 11, 2016 (updated 15:53)
Sputnik
BREAKING NEWS

Intelligence data showed that up to 5,000 Daesh [Islamic State] terrorists have been moved to Syria’s Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor from Iraq’s Mosul, Russian Reconciliation Center said in a statement on Sunday.

The Russian Defense Ministry’s reconciliation center cited intelligence data that showed that Daesh terrorist group had moved up to 5,000 fighters to the cities of Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor from the Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.

At the same time, the reconciliation center reported that Daesh had moved considerable forces from their stronghold of Raqqa after the US-backed offensive of Arab and Kurdish rebels was stalled. More forces and equipment were relocated from the vicinity of Deir-ez-Zor. 

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

[END REPORT]

"Syrian Army liberates new district in Aleppo city"

By Ivan Yakovlev
December 11, 2016 [no time stamp]
AMN

BREAKING NEWS

After heavy artillery shelling on jihadist-held districts in southeastern part of Aleppo city that continued all night, the Syrian Arab Army's elite Tiger Forces division renewed their offensive on remaining Aleppo pocket.

The attack proved successful as government troops imposed full control over Al-Asilah district in northeastern part of the pocket after launching a swift attack on this axis.

Having cleared the aforementioned neighbourhood of jihadists, the Tiger Forces continued their operation launching an assault on Al-Ma'adi district. Preliminary reports suggest that SAA troops have already seized a part of it and keep advancing further. Latest map from of the situation on this front can be seen below:

[see AMN site for map]

[END REPORT]

********

Latest Death Toll From Istanbul Bombings 38 UPDATED 7:50am EST

UPDATE

See also BBC report Istanbul stadium attacks: Turkey points finger at PKK posted about 30 minutes ago; report mentions:

Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus said initial findings pointed towards the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has targeted security forces in the past.

[...] 

A car bomb hit a police vehicle and a suicide bomber blew himself up nearby. Mr Numan told CNN Turk news channel that about 300-400 kg (660-880 lb) of explosives had been used in Saturday evening's attack.

[...]

Turkey has declared a day of national mourning. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the explosions had "aimed to maximise casualties".

But they came two hours after the end of the match between top-division teams Bursaspor at Besiktas at the Vodafone Arena in central Istanbul.

That last as much clinches it that police were the target of the attack.  

No time stamp on the Hurriyet report, filed December 10, but Sputnik and other sources are reporting today the same death toll as this local source. (The photo above is from Sputnik's latest report.) Note from Hurriyet that the police detonated a 'suspicious' car near the scene of the blasts.

Hurriyet Daily News
Istanbul

Some 38 people were killed and another 136 were wounded on Dec. 10 when a double bombing hit central Istanbul near Beşiktaş’s Vodafone Arena Stadium. 

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said seven civilians are among the dead, while 30 others are police officers and one of the victims has yet to be identified.

Thirteen suspects have been detained in connection to the attack, Soylu added.

Health Minister Recep Akdağ said 14 of the wounded are in intensive care.

One of the civilian victims of the attack was a 21-year-old student, whose family sought him on social media after failing to reach him in the aftermath of the blasts.

“My son was at the scene of the blast. I can’t get a hold of him,” Berkay Akbaş’s mother tweeted after the attack. 

Akbaş reportedly arrived in Istanbul to travel for a week with his friends. He was heavily wounded and taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds. 

The first explosion came from a moving car that directly targeted riot police near the stadium, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said in a press conference early on Dec. 11.

The second attack came 45 seconds after the first one when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at Maçka Park just across from the stadium, Kurtulmuş said.

Beşiktas has announced that one of the civilians killed was a staff member at the Beşiktaş store while the other was a congress member and a police officer. 

The huge blasts occurred at around 10:20 p.m., around 90 minutes after a match between Beşiktaş and Bursaspor ended at the nearby ground. It was heard on both sides of the Bosphorus.

Following the attack, Bursaspor stated on its official Twitter account that there were no injuries among its supporters.

Beşiktaş also condemned the attack in a statement issued on its website, as did the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor.

A number of ambulances were immediately dispatched to the scene as eyewitnesses reported the sound of gunfire after the explosions, although the lack of hospitals in the Taksim area meant most of the wounded had to be taken to Şişli Etfal Hospital or other medical centers in the area.

Security forces later detonated a suspicious car near the scene in a controlled explosion early on Dec. 11, Doğan News Agency reported.

The prime minister was immediately briefed about the attack by Soylu and Istanbul Gov. Vasip Şahin. 

Presidential sources also said Erdoğan was at Tarabya Palace by the Bosphorus in Istanbul and that he was also briefed by officials. 

Meanwhile, Turkey’s media watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), announced a gag order on reporting the attack.

A total of six prosecutors were assigned to investigate the attack.

In addition, the U.S. Embassy to Turkey also condemned the attack, showing solidarity with the country against terror.

“We condemn tonight’s cowardly attack, and salute the courage of the Turkish people as we stand with them against terror,” the embassy tweeted.

The U.S. Consulate in Istanbul also stated that it was monitoring the attack, urging its citizens to avoid the area.

“Please avoid the area, monitor local press reporting, and let friends and family know you are OK,” the consulate said in a tweet.

The attack also drew condemnation from EU officials.

“Following news from #Istanbul, in contact with authorities. All our solidarity to all citizens of #Turkey,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini tweeted.

“Strongly condemn attack in #Istanbul! Violence has no place in a democratic society. @EUDelegationTur,” Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn tweeted. 

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also condemned the attack.

“I condemn the horrific acts of terror in #Istanbul. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones and our Ally Turkey,” he tweeted.

In addition, British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson condemned the attack on his Twitter account.

“Condemn attack in #Istanbul. My thoughts are with all those affected. UK committed to working with #Turkey to tackle terrorism,” Johnson said.

[END REPORT]

********

BREAKING NEWS: 25 Killed in Blast in Coptic Church Atttached to Cairo Orthodox Cathedral; 31 injured

St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox Church, Cairo

St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral

RT has posted a short video from Rudaw English of the church interior after the blast. 

Question for CNN:  If you knew that the bombing was inside a church next to the cathedral, why does your headline only indicate there was a blast near the cathedral? Never mind, because I know I wouldn't get a straight answer. Update 7:40am EST: I note that RT, quoting Associated Press, has a similar headline that also doesn't mention the actual blast inside a church. ]
  
Breaking News: Local media: Blast near Cairo cathedral kills at least 25
By Basma Atassi and Sarah Sirgany CNN
Updated 5:42 AM ET, Sun December 11, 2016

CNN

 An explosion near a Coptic cathedral in the Egyptian capital has left at least 25 people dead and 31 others injured, local media reported.

The blast occurred in Cairo's Abbassyia district early Sunday morning, according to the government-sponsored Al-Ahram daily, citing the health ministry.

"Security forces are searching and screening the area," the Al-Ahram's website reported.

Al-Ahram reports the Coptic Church's official spokesperson Rev. Paul Halim says the explosion took place in the small church of St. Peter and St. Paul attached to the cathedral.
It is called St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral.

The explosion comes just two days after two bombs killed six police officers and a civilian in Giza's Haram district on the street leading to the pyramids.

Copts face persecution in Egypt

Copts have faced persecution and discrimination that spiked after the toppling of Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011. Dozens have been killed in sectarian clashes. There is also little Christian representation in government.

Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 80 million residents, according to the CIA's World Factbook They base their theology on the teachings of the Apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt, according to St. Takla Church in Alexandria, the capital of Coptic Christianity.

CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

[END REPORT]

********

(UPDATED Dec 11, 6:10am EST) Toll in Istanbul Blasts Now 29 dead -- 27 police -- and 166 wounded

UPDATE
Death toll now at 38.  Hurriyet Daily News. other sources
http://pundita.blogspot.com/2016/12/latest-death-toll-from-istanbul.html

This was a 'complex' terror attack -- complex meaning the use of more than one type of  tactic. Complex attacks are an Al Qaeda hallmark, although Haqqani Network, linked to AQ, also specializes in that kind of attack. So while Erdogan will probably be quick to point the finger at the Kurdish resistance and/or the Gulenists, I wouldn't be too sure at this stage. 

I note they've already arrested 10 suspects. But if this attack is as sophisticated as it sounds, I'd take those arrests at this early stage with a grain of salt, unless they caught shooters. The first Sputnik report on the incident mentioned that gunfire had been heard around the time of the bomb blasts; it's not mentioned in the very brief updated report below

In any case there's now no question that Istanbul police were the target of the attack.   

Sputnik

04:38 - 11.12.2016 (updated 05:09 - 11.12.2016) 

Some 29 people, including 27 police officers, have been killed and 166 other injured in a car bomb and a suicide bombing that shook Istanbul on December 10, the country's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced.

Soylu announced that ten suspects in the deadly attacks have been taken into custody.

[...]

Two massive explosions rocked Turkey's largest city after a football match at Vodafone arena. The target was a van full of police leaving the stadium after having provided security, Soylu said.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Nurman Kurtulmus said the attack comprised a car bomb outside the stadium in the city's Besiktas district, followed 45 seconds later by a suicide bomber nearby. 

 Soylu called the attacks "a cruel plot" and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement after the tragedy that it had been designed to "maximize" casualties.

[END REPORT]

********

(UPDATED 10:30pm EST and Dec 11, 6:10am EST) Two bombs detonated in Istanbul; police primary targets; reports of gunfire

December 11 6:10am EST UPDATE
Death toll has risen to 38.  Hurriyet Daily News. other sources
http://pundita.blogspot.com/2016/12/latest-death-toll-from-istanbul.html

****
Updated 10:30pm Sputnik report and my comments



At Least 15 Killed, Dozens Injured As Explosions Rock Istanbul (PHOTOS)
22:53 - 10.12.2016 (updated 01:55 - 11.12.2016)
Sputnik

Security sources and local TV are reporting that at least 15 are dead and 70 injured after two huge explosions struck the Turkish city.

In what Turkey's Interior Ministry has called a coordinated terrorist attack, a car bomb exploded near a riot police bus leaving Vodafone stadium in the Besiktas district of central Istanbul after a football match and another attacker detonated a suicide vest nearby.

The suspected suicide bomber struck in Macka park, next to the Vodafone Arena, home to Istanbul's Besiktas soccer team, while the second explosion hit directly outside the stadium, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a live broadcast on Turkish TV after the attack.

The car bomb attack near the arena, which has killed at least 15 and wounded 70, according to local news agency NTV, took place about two hours after a football match. The wounded are believed to be police officers who were in charge of security for the match, NTV reports. Horrific images of the carnage, including severely injured police officers, are circulating on social media.

[...]

********

Staggering Statistics on Afghanistan's Opium Trade

I don't agree with the journalist's argument that the solution is legalizing opium but she pulled facts and figures together to convey a helpful updated picture of the situation. I hate to cherry-pick quotes but in this case I won't resist:

America risks losing the war on terror in Afghanistan unless it legalizes the opium trade
By Abigail Hall-Blanco
December 09, 2016

According to a recently released report by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), opium production in Afghanistan has risen by 43% in the last year. The country’s drug trade employs some 2.9 million people—12% of the Afghan population—and generates approximately $68 billion in revenue a year.

[...]

The US government has spent some $12 billion in eradication efforts—more than four times the size of the entire pre-invasion economy. Yet Afghanistan now supplies around 90% of the world’s opium.

[...]

In Afghanistan, the drug cartel is the Taliban. In fact, the terror group takes in an estimated $200-$400 million annually from the illicit opium economy. But US drug policy doesn’t just offer the Taliban a profitable business opportunity; it also drives Afghan citizens toward the terror group.  [Pundita note:  see the rest of the report for Hall-Blanco's explanation about why the latter is so.]

[...]

The UN has acknowledged that the Taliban insurgency and drug trade are intimately linked. But research has also found that provinces producing more opium see higher levels of terror attacks. Moreover, there appears to be a correlation between spikes in the number of terror attacks and the months in which opium is harvested. 

[...]

********

Surprise! 50,000 Civilians Evacuated In Past Two Days From E. Aleppo (UPDATED 7:45am EST)

UPDATE

Here is a report from Sputnik on the evacuation; RT has also updated its Breaking News report on the evacuation and mentions, "The Russian Reconciliation Center is monitoring the evacuation of civilians from the blocked districts round-the-clock with the use of drones."

Both websites have video showing overhead surveillance of the evacuation. RT has 'live' raw drone footage in black and white; Sputnik has a short clip, also posted at YouTube, which is in color and more easily than the drone footage conveys the exodus along one of the 'humanitarian corridors' from east to west Aleppo.
  
Below is the the Sputnik report, which repeats much of the information in the updated RT one. Note the Sputnik photo; people don't seem to be carrying anything as they wait to board a bus. I assume this is because they've been told by the Syrian/Russian commands that the evacuation is very short- term. Also, the evacuation looks reasonably orderly and everyone shown at the transportation staging looks pretty calm. 

Russia Has Evacuated 50,000 Civilians From Aleppo in Past Two Days
13:48 - 10.12.2016 (updated 14:20 - 10.12.2016)
Sputnik

Russia's center for Syrian reconciliation has helped nearly 50,000 civilians leave Eastern Aleppo in the past two days, the Defense Ministry's spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.

While the total number of civilians evacuated from Eastern Aleppo over the past two days stands at almost 50,000, Saturday alone has seen over 20,000 individuals leaving the city, he said.

"On Saturday, over 20,000 people have left Eastern Aleppo, and 1,217 militants have laid down their arms."

The evacuation is being conducted through humanitarian corridors, organized by Moscow and Damascus. 

"We are warning terrorists and so-called moderate opposition militants, and we are addressing their patrons, to not provoke the situation, to not open fire on civilians leaving though the humanitarian corridors," Konashenkov said. 

The spokesman appealed to those countries and organizations which vowed to provide humanitarian aid for Aleppo. 

"We are appealing to those who have been for months announcing their readiness to send humanitarian aid to Aleppo: the representatives of the United States, Britain, France, Canada, the European Union and international organizations… It's time to back up your promises." 

Konashenkov said earlier on Saturday there was a "continuous flow" of people fleeing the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo to that controlled by the government.

The Syrian Army on Saturday suspended its offensive against the militants in Aleppo for the time of the evacuation of civilians from the eastern neighborhoods of the city through humanitarian corridors launched by the Russian Reconciliation Center. The Syrian government has regained control of 93 percent of the city.

Aleppo has become the battleground for violent clashes between the government forces and opposition groups, with the latter holding on to a number of districts in the east of the city. The siege of Aleppo has resulted in many of its civilian residents lacking food and basic necessities, their lives threatened.

[END REPORT]

END UPDATE

I'll be darned. The Russian military sure has a quiet way of working -- but maybe they were able to pull it off in part because of crummy reporting on the conflict. Anyhow, this explains the seeming foot dragging in the past few days by Syrian and Russian commanders about re-escalating attacks in the area, and which had the guys at SouthFront tearing out their hair.   

BREAKING NEWS
December 10, 2016 - 10:47
RT

Russian Reconciliation Center evacuated 50,000 civilians from E. Aleppo in past 2 days – military

Over the past 48 hours, up to 50,000 people have been evacuated from East Aleppo, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov has reported.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

********

Friendly Fire: US Airstrike in Mosul Kills 90 Iraqi Servicemen, Wounds 100

BREAKING NEWS
Sputnik
December 10, 2016 - 10:17 (updated 11:35)

A total of 90 Iraqi servicemen were killed and 100 were wounded as a result of a mistake strike by the US Air Force in Mosul, a local news portal reported Saturday. A source in the Iraqi army confirmed the information to Sputnik Arabic.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Factiniraq news portal, the airstrike also damaged Iraqi military hardware, and the troops had to retreat from the area.

The airstrike, which occurred on Friday, targeted an armored division, destroying eight infantry fighting vehicles and four Humvee military trucks, the army source told Sputnik.

The Iraqi operation to liberate Mosul, which was occupied by the Daesh terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) in June 2014, has been ongoing since October 17. The offensive is led by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Iraqi soldiers backed by the US-led anti-terror coalition.

[END REPORT]

********

Uh oh. British regime propaganda outfit tried to bribe ethical journalist

Every time I thought the situation described in the following report couldn't get any worse, it did.     

“This was far beyond working for state-owned media in my opinion. It was to actually be a mouthpiece for specific armed groups that are backed by a Western regime with a long history of disastrous interference in this region."

British Govt-Funded Outlet Offered Journalist $17,000 a Month to Produce Propaganda for Syrian Rebels
Emails reveal that a popular source for mainstream Western media is a U.K.-backed propaganda outlet.

By Rania Khalek
December 8, 2016
Alternet/Grayzone Project

The Revolutionary Forces of Syria (RFS) media office, a major Syrian opposition media outfit and frequent source of information for Western media, is funded by the British government and is managed by Westerners operating out of Turkey, according to emails provided to AlterNet by a Middle East reporter RFS tried to recruit.

The outlet stirred controversy this November when it released a video at the height of the Mannequin Challenge, a pop culture craze in which people compete for how long they can freeze in place on video. The RFS video depicted a staged rescue by the White Helmets, the Western-funded rescue group that operates exclusively in rebel-held territory. RFS quickly removed the video and issued an apology out of apparent concern that the staged rescue could raise questions about the authenticity of other videos by the White Helmets.

Over the summer, the Middle East reporter, who asked not to be named, was contacted by an American acquaintance and former colleague about working for RFS.

I'm currently in Istanbul, working on a media project for the HMG [the British government],” wrote the acquaintance in an email time-stamped June 23. “We're working on media surrounding the Syrian conflict, as one of their three partners.” The email included links to RFS Media’s English website and SMO Media, an Arabic website that covers the Southern Front, a Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) group.

“[W]e’re looking for a managing editor/production manager to head up our team here in Istanbul, and I thought you'd be a great fit. I was wondering if you had any interest, or knew of anyone looking to move out to Istanbul for an opportunity," the acquaintance added.

In a followup phone conversation, the acquaintance explained to the reporter what the job would entail.

“I would have been talking to opposition people on the ground and writing news pieces based on statements from media activists who are affiliated with the armed groups in places like Aleppo,” the reporter later explained.

The salary offered for this task was an eye-popping $17,000 a month.

The reporter ultimately decided not to pursue the RFS position because he felt it would be journalistically unethical.

The idea that I would work for the government of a country that’s intimately involved in the Syrian conflict is one that’s incomprehensible for me as a journalist,” he told AlterNet.

“This was far beyond working for state-owned media in my opinion. It was to actually be a mouthpiece for specific armed groups that are backed by a Western regime with a long history of disastrous interference in this region. That doesn’t mean I don’t have sympathy for people who are against the Syrian government. I am not pro-regime. At the same time, I am a journalist and would like to maintain my integrity at that level.”

The reporter declined to recommend others for the job, saying, “I’m not going to facilitate some dubious relationship between a reporter and what is obviously a propaganda outlet,” he said.

RFS did not respond to a request for comment.

Go-to source for information-starved Western media

Western media often relies on self-described “media activists” in areas controlled by Western- and Gulf-backed militant groups, like Jabhat al-Nusra (until recently Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria), Ahrar al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam and Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki. 

These groups are explicitly anti-democratic and have been implicated in human rights violations from mass execution to using caged religious minorities as human shields. Most recently, civilians fleeing rebel-held eastern Aleppo have described being fired on by militants seeking to prevent them from escaping to the safety of government-controlled territory.  

Two months ago, I spoke over the phone to a frequently quoted media activist living in East Aleppo. He told me that if he publicly criticizes the armed opposition groups, he risks being tortured, or worse. Indeed, a largely ignored report by Amnesty International published in June revealed that civilians in opposition-controlled Aleppo and Idlib have been subjected to abduction, torture and summary execution simply for criticizing armed groups on social media.
[Pundita note: Evidently many among the civilians who've recently fled E. Aleppo have also described torture and mass executions carried out by the 'moderates' who'd held them captive.]

RFS’s videos and hashtags are regularly picked up by major Western media outlets. One of its videos has even been cited by human rights groups as evidence of Russian war crimes.

Among its most viral campaigns is #AvengersInAleppo, which featured photos of children living in East Aleppo holding up signs calling on Marvel comic book superheroes to save them. (East Aleppo is controlled by a number of extremist groups led by Al Qaeda’s renamed offshoot, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.)

Prior to that, RFS capitalized on the popularity of Pokémon Go to sell a pro-interventionist message to Western audiences with photos of children in opposition-controlled areas of Syria holding up photos of Pokémon characters with messages calling for intervention. 

The campaign garnered favorable media coverage from major outlets, including the Guardian, the Washington Post, CNN, the Independent, Reuters, and the BBC, none of which have bothered to question the origins of RFS or similar pro-opposition outlets.

A $3 million British government propaganda campaign for Syria’s rebels

RFS Media is just one of several different propaganda outlets financed by the U.K. Foreign Office. A recent investigation by the Guardian revealed that the British Foreign Office Conflict and Stability Fund has secretly pumped at least £2.4 million (over $3 million U.S.) into pro-rebel propaganda outfits based out of Istanbul.

The money began flowing after the British parliament voted against bombing the Syrian government in late 2013. (RFS Media launched in December 2013 in both English and Arabic.) The vote against war was attributed in large part to public pressure, as citizens on both sides of the Atlantic, reluctant to overthrow yet another Middle Eastern government after the disasters in Iraq and Libya, mobilized against another campaign for Western regime change in Syria.

After the political defeat, the U.K. Foreign Office embarked on a clandestine propaganda campaign to suppress the public’s anti-war sensibility, hiring private contractors to “produce videos, photos, military reports, radio broadcasts, print products and social media posts branded with the logos of fighting groups, and effectively run a press office for opposition fighters,” according to the Guardian.

The purpose of the propaganda, euphemistically referred to as “strategic communications” by the Foreign Office, is to clandestinely “influence the course of the war by shaping perceptions of opposition fighters” and provide “strategic communications and media operations support to the Syrian moderate armed opposition.”

Sanitizing the armed opposition as “moderate” has been a difficult task to be sure. While Western officials were well aware of the extremist and violently sectarian ideology that dominated the opposition early in the conflict, they deliberately chose to whitewash their atrocities in favor of weakening the Syrian government. RSF Media has stayed true to that goal, portraying armed groups as liberators and protectors adored by the people living under them, a narrative Western media outlets have enthusiastically echoed even as their own reporters were kidnapped, ransomed and even shot by Western-backed rebels.

This has presented a puzzling contradiction in Syria coverage. On the one hand, foreign reporters do not dare enter opposition areas for fear of being abducted. Yet the same media outlets that refrain from sending their reporters to opposition areas are comfortable amplifying propaganda that comes out of these areas with almost zero scrutiny, despite the fact that such information almost certainly requires the approval of the armed groups they fear may kidnap their reporters.

The warped picture of Syria that has been provided to Western media consumers is not the fault of the Syrian opposition, which is merely advancing its own most immediate public relations needs without regard for the objective truth, as combatants in war often do. It is, however, a damning indictment of a media establishment that has failed to scrutinize convenient pro-war narratives that serve their own governments’ geopolitical interests.

[copies of emails quoted in the report]

[END REPORT]

Rania Khalek is an independent journalist living in the Washington D.C. area.

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Latest Syrian War map. LSD helps

GOVT FORCES RENEW MILITARY OPERATION IN ALEPPO AS MILITANTS AGAIN INGORE TERMS OF RUSSIA-PROPOSED CEASEFIRE
December 9, 2016

SuthFront

Syrian government forces reportedly renewed a military operation in the Syrian city of Aleppo after Jaish al-Fatah and Fatah Halab militant coalitions prevented a high number of civilians from leaving the militant-held area of the city.

The Syrian army’s Tiger Forces and other pro-government groups are now storming few militant-held building in the Shekih Saeed neighborhood and the militant held neighborhood of Sayf Al-Dawla, according to local sources.

Pro-government sources claim that the Syrian army and its allies are set to finish the job.

The operations were renewed few hours ago, after reports started to appear that the so-called “moderate opposition” was preventing civilians from leaving the militan-held area.

By now, these reports have been ignored by the Western media. It’s an obvious fact for Arab-language media outlets:
[Sky News Arabia Tweet, in Arabic]

[SouthFront then continues stewing at Russian/Syrian governments for their softly softly approach to finishing off the varmits]

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Friday: Over 1,000 militants surrender to Syrian Army in east Aleppo

By Leith Fadel
December 9, 2016
AMN

BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:15 P.M.) - More than 1,000 militants from a number of different rebel factions surrendered themselves to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on Friday after their forces lost approximately 90 percent of the east Aleppo pocket, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Friday.

The militants reportedly surrendered themselves to the Syrian Arab Army at both the Bustan Al-Qasir and Sheikh Sa'eed districts in east Aleppo earlier today.

One of the promises offered to the militants that surrendered today is the consideration of amnesty, which will absolve them from any crime that does not involve killing or kidnapping civilians in Aleppo.

Most of the rebel militants were reportedly from the Fatah Halab coalition, which includes groups like Harakat Nouriddeen Al-Zinki and the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

[END REPORT]

Slowly but surely the SAA is grinding down the forces. They've had to work carefully because of the large number of civilians involved.   

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Then, nothing but triumph

We'll get there, do you hear me? No sincere human dies in vain, not a single one, and even the insincere ones will eventually develop sincerity and be saved. Om that Existence! 

Under These Outrageous Skies.

*********   

Almost 18,000 civilians escape from E. Aleppo

Sun rising over Aleppo with the Citadel, now completely liberated, in the background

Sputnik
December 10, 2016 - 7:45

Almost 18 thousand citizens managed to flee from militant-controlled areas of Syria’s Aleppo, the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation announced.

"The Russian center for reconciliation continues to assist local residents leaving militants-controlled districts of Eastern Aleppo. In the past 24 hours 17,971 more people, including 7 542 children, left the militant-controlled areas with help of the Russian center for reconciliation,” the center said in a statement.

The center noted that Russian servicemen demined about 8 hectares (almost 18 acres) of territory in Aleppo, getting explosives from 24 buildings, including two schools, two mosques and an electric power substation.

Within the past 24 hours, some 28 militants surrendered, the statement added. In accordance with a decision of Syrian President Bashar Assad, all 28 militants who laid down arms in the past 24 hours in Aleppo have been granted amnesty.

[END REPORT]

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Okay everybody calm down

SouthFront is snapping at the Russian government. Yes, SF is a Russian site, although it's not a government site. They've snapped at the Kremlin before and now they're upset, obviously because they think Putin's advisers are telling him to tip-toe in response to the latest American provocations, including the release of MANPADS and other weapons to 'moderate' fighters in Syria, and obfuscations about the terrorists still left in E. Aleppo, who are either stubbornly refusing to leave or stubbornly insisting that they take their weapons with them if they agree to leave.         

I wonder if it's occurred to SouthFront that Putin's advisers are convinced that Obama has finally gone off the deep end.

Even if my speculation is wrong, this is a good time for everyone to calm down and have a little patience with Putin's decisions.   

And pray. 

*********

   

"Syrian Army Controls 93% of Aleppo - Russian MoD - BREAKING NEWS" (UPDATED 9:10am EST)

See updated report below. Unless the editor forgot to remove the "DETAILS TO FOLLOW" note from the initial report, more details are on the way.    

Sputnik
16:42 - December 9, 2012 (updated 16:43)

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Sputnik update 17:05:

The Syrian army controls 93 percent of the whole territory of Aleppo, the Russian General Staff said.

"As a result of a successful advance, 52 districts of eastern Aleppo have been freed from militants. Over the past 4 days, territory controlled by militants decreased by one third. The Syrian army controls 93% of the city's territory," Sergei Rudskoy, the chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate, said at a news briefing. 

The Russian General Staff said that Aleppo's residents report torture, public executions by the so-called "moderate opposition," the Russian General Staff said. 

"Civilians who escaped from terrorists talk about new crimes committed by militants of the so-called moderate opposition in eastern Aleppo. Cases of torture, public executions and massacres of the population have been confirmed." 

Over 3,000 Aleppo residents returned to their houses in the city, Rudskoy said. He said that dozens of tons of humanitarian aid are delivered to liberated Aleppo districts on a daily basis.

More than 1,000 militants have surrendered arms and left eastern Aleppo, 953 of them have been granted amnesty, Gen. Lt. Sergei Rudskoy said.

Russian and Syrian warplanes have not carried out airstrikes around Aleppo since October 18, he said. "I emphasize that such results [in Aleppo's liberation] have been achieved by Syrian army's ground forces." 

According to Rudskoy, 21 facilities, including two schools and two mosques, have been cleared of explosive devices in Aleppo over the past 24 hours. Over 1,040 settlements have joined the ceasefire in Syria, the General Staff said. 
DETAILS TO FOLLOW

[END REPORT]

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Obama decides to re-arm Syrian terrorists. Does this include MANPADS? (UPDATED 7:55am EST)

UPDATE

Lavrov: US easing restrictions on arms to Syria won’t seriously affect situation in East Aleppo

December 9, 2016

RT

The US’ decision to ease restrictions on military aid for foreign forces and other fighters supporting the US in Syria is unlikely to affect the situation in eastern Aleppo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at an OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg.

“I don’t think this will significantly change the situation in eastern Aleppo, because the rebels are encircled and they are unlikely to receive reinforcing,” Lavrov said.

[...]

Later in the discussion Lavrov lobs this zinger:

Lavrov added that from the point of view of the developments in Syria, “resupplying the Syrian opposition [with weapons] is a big risk, as in the majority of cases the weapons that the so-called ‘moderate’ Syrian opposition receive end up in the hands of the terrorists – ISIS or Al-Nusra Front.”

The decision will affect the discussions between the US and Russia on Syria, the Russian foreign minister stressed.

“This will affect our talks, as this is yet another peculiarity of US foreign policy concerning Aleppo,” Lavrov said.

[...]

END UPDATE

"Under the waiver, it’s supposed to be a 15-day notification to Congress, but Congress, as of tonight, Washington time, is going to be out of session until January. So these arms can go within hours.”

As to the fig leaf that Obama is arming groups that will fight Islamic State -- he knows that within days of those weapons arriving they will be given or sold to outright terrorist groups, including IS, or captured by them. 

As to the question about whether the U.S. weapons transforms will include MANPADS -- yes.    

Obama grants waiver for military support of foreign fighters in Syria – White House

December 9, 2016

By News Desk

AMN

President Barack Obama has ordered a waiver of restrictions on military aid for foreign forces and others in Syria, deeming it “essential to the national security interests” of the US to allow exceptions from provisions in the four-decades-old Arms Export Control Act.

Kerry says rebels rejected Syria ceasefire in 2015

A White House press release Thursday announced that foreign fighters in Syria supporting US special operations “to combat terrorism in Syria” would be excused from restrictions on military assistance.

“I hereby determine that the transaction, encompassing the provision of defense articles and services to foreign forces, irregular forces, groups, or individuals engaged in supporting or facilitating ongoing U.S. military operations to counter terrorism in Syria, is essential to the national security interests of the United States,” President Obama affirmed in the presidential determination and waiver.

The order delegates responsibility to the US secretary of state to work with and report to Congress on weapons export proposals, requiring 15 days of notice before they are authorized.

Obama announced a similar waiver of the Arms Export Control Act in September 2013, following the Ghouta chemical attack in August of that year. That order facilitated the transfer of US military weaponry to "select vetted members" of opposition forces battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Thursday's order appears less narrow in scope.

Last year, Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2016, which allocated nearly $500 million to arm and train "moderate rebels" in Syria, despite a failed Pentagon program abandoned earlier in 2015.

The challenge of differentiating between terrorist forces, such as Al-Nusra, and more moderate forces in Syria has been acknowledged by press secretaries in recent State Department briefings.

The “counterterrorism” pretext is just a “convenient misappropriation of language,”aimed at arming various militants to battle the Syrian Army and its allies, believes geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen.

“Putting this under the banner of fighting terrorism … follows on [from] a sort of fantasy concept that’s been pushed out as a talking point for the last year and a half, that if we train and equip the ‘moderate opposition’ they will fight [Islamic State]," Henningsen told RT.

“They want to open the floodgates basically for trafficking weapons to religious extremists and militants and terrorist groups, internationally recognized terrorist groups … it’s all being done still under this kind of false pretense of the fight against ISIS, that somehow ‘moderate’ rebels, if they even exist, will turn their weapons and fight against ISIS. 

"And we know from the facts on the ground, from the beginning, that simply has not been the case. This is to arm the opposition to fight the Syrian government and to fight Russian forces. This is a desperate move on the part of the lame duck president.”

President Obama’s decision could lead to an almost immediate escalation of the conflict and basically put the US in a situation of “waging a proxy war against the Russians and Syrians,” a former Pentagon official, Michael Maloof, told RT. [Pundita comment:  This is a new development??]

“The rebels, whom we cannot identify, are going to be getting some very sophisticated weapons. Potentially, I should say, man-portable air defense systems, which can knock down Russian and Syrian aircraft,” Maloof said. 

“And the fact too, that we have stocks already in Europe, that can easily be transferred with this waiver. Under the waiver, it’s supposed to be a 15-day notification to Congress, but Congress, as of tonight, Washington time, is going to be out of session until January. So these arms can go within hours.”[END REPORT]

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Another US-led airstrike on Raqqa civilians

It's no use asking why Obama ordered this latest strike on civilians; he and his regime know it's unlikely the Western media will mention the strike -- and if any do the regime will simply say it was an accident. Counting the hours until they're gone.....   

New attack on Raqqa by US-led coalition causes a massacre

December 9, 2016

SANA

Raqqa, SANA – A new attack launched by the US-led coalition on residential areas in the northern Raqqa province on Thursday caused a massacre, leaving dozens of civilians dead or injured.

Local and media sources said the coalition’s warplanes carried out intensive sorties targeting residential buildings in al-Msheirfeh area north of Raqqa, killing 20 people and injuring others.

The attack left a trail of destruction in the site.

According to the sources, the death toll is expected to rise as there are critical cases among the injured.

Previous attacks by the US-led coalition, which claims to be fighting ISIS terrorist organization in Syria and Iraq since its establishment in August 2014, have caused several massacres in the areas of Manbej, al-Ghandoura, Toukhan al-Kubra and Dabeq in the northern countryside of Aleppo province and in al-Bukamal in eastern Deir Ezzor province and in a number of areas in the city and countryside of Raqqa.

Hundreds of civilians were killed or injured in to those attacks.

Moscow condemns the attack

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the airstrikes conducted by the US-led coalition against civilian targets in the northern parts of Raqqa province, saying they are “unacceptable”.

“These reports cause deep concern. Air and missile strikes that result in deaths and suffering of peaceful Syrians are unacceptable and deserve decisive condemnation. The suffering of civilian population must be stopped,” the Ministry said in a statement quoted by Russian media.

The Russian Foreign Ministry added that it is hard to understand statements about “errors” and “negligence” from those whose military operation in Syria had not been requested by the country’s legitimate authorities.

[END REPORT]

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