BEIRUT: The Syrian army and its allies recaptured an oilfield from Islamic State near the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday in further advances against the militants, state TV reported.

Government forces also seized part of a main highway running from Deir al-Zor down to the city of al-Mayadeen, to which many Islamic State militants have retreated, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

The Syrian army this week broke through Islamic State lines to reach a government-held enclave of Deir al-Zor besieged for years by the jihadists, and is fighting to reach a nearby air base which IS still surrounds.

On Saturday, the army and militias fighting alongside it seized the Teym oilfield in desert south of Deir al-Zor, state TV said. Deir al-Zor is in an oil-rich area of Syria.

To the east of Teym and south of the air base, government forces also recaptured part of the main road running from Deir al-Zor to al-Mayadeen, downstream along the Euphrates river and closer to the Iraq border, the Observatory reported.

The British-based monitoring group said that advance would block potential Islamic State reinforcements from al-Mayadeen.

The advances put yet more pressure on Islamic State's shrinking caliphate, which once stretched across northern and eastern Syria, and northwestern Iraq.

In Syria, the group holds much of Deir al-Zor province and half the city, as well as a pocket of territory near Hama and Homs in the west of the country.</s>Raids targeted civilians fleeing violence on ferries across the Euphrates River, UK-based monitoring group alleged.

At least 34 civilians, including nine children, have been killed in a Russian air raid on Euphrates River ferries near Syria's Deir Az Zor city, according to a monitoring group.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the air strikes on Sunday targeted "more than 40 ferries" that left al-Boulil town southwest of Deir Az Zor for the eastern shore of the Euphrates.

No immediate response from Russian authorities was available.

Sunday's attack came as Syrian troops pressed an offensive against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) across Deir Az Zor province with Russian air cover.

According to the War Media channel operated by Syrian government ally Hezbollah, Syrian troops seized full control of the 450km road linking the capital, Damascus, to Deir Az Zor for the first time in four years.

"The Syrian army and its allies now control the entire international highway between Deir Az Zor and Damascus, through the cities of al-Sukhna and Palmyra," it said, referring to other central Syrian cities recaptured from ISIL (also known as ISIS).

READ MORE: SDF in race with Syrian army for oil-rich Deir Az Zor

An alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters backed by the United States was also on the move against ISIL in Deir Az Zor.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday announced it had begun clearing ISIL fighters from areas east of the Euphrates, which cuts diagonally across the province.

On Sunday, the Observatory said the SDF had made a sweeping advance, capturing territory just kilometres from Deir Az Zor city.

"They seized control of a hilltop seven kilometres from the eastern banks of the Euphrates," said Abdel Rahman.

He attributed the quick gains to the fact "eastern parts of Deir Az Zor are desert and not densely populated".

Oil-rich Deir Az Zor province borders Iraq and is a strategic prize for both SDF and the Syrian army.

Since 2014, ISIL has held about 60 percent of the city and much of the surrounding province.</s>BEIRUT, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces seized a final stretch of highway linking the eastern city of Deir al-Zor to the capital Damascus on Sunday in further advances against Islamic State, a Hezbollah-run media unit reported.

Troops moving in from the west linked up with forces already in Deir al-Zor at the Panorama entrance to the city, bringing the whole road under their control for the first time in years, it said.

The Syrian army and its Iran-backed allies, which include Lebanese Hezbollah, this week broke a three-year siege by the jihadists of a government-held enclave of Deir al-Zor and an adjacent air base.

The rapid government advances, accompanied by Russian air strikes, are squeezing Islamic State in its last major Syria stronghold, as U.S.-backed forces separately oust the jihadists from areas they hold to the east, on the other side of the Euphrates river.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said they had made further gains against IS a day after announcing an operation to capture northern and eastern parts of Deir al-Zor province.

Syrian state TV broadcast footage of Syrian officers who had been holed up in Deir al-Zor emotionally greeting their superiors after being surrounded by IS since 2014.

The United Nations has estimated that some 93,000 people were living in "extremely difficult" conditions in government-held parts of Deir al-Zor, supplied by air drops to the air base.

Islamic State has lost nearly half of its territory across both Iraq and Syria, but still has 6,000-8,000 fighters left in Syria, the United States-led coalition has said. (Reporting by John Davison; Editing by Keith Weir)</s>Ahmed Abu Kholeh, head of the Deir al-Zor military council which fights under the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during a press conference in the village of Abu Fas, Hasaka province, Syria September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said

By John Davison and Rodi Said

BEIRUT/AL SHADADI, Syria (Reuters) - U.S.-backed militias and the Syrian army advanced in separate offensives against Islamic State in eastern Syria on Saturday, piling pressure on shrinking territory the group still holds in oil-rich areas near the Iraqi border.

Syrian government forces fought their way to an air base on the outskirts of Deir al-Zor city that had been besieged for years by the jihadists, said a commander in the military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed alliance of mostly Arab and Kurdish fighters, meanwhile launched attacks against Islamic State in the north of Deir al-Zor province in an operation to capture areas east of the Euphrates river.

The advances against Islamic State, another blow to its control over territory it held for years as part of a self-declared caliphate, will likely bring U.S.-backed forces and the Syrian government side, backed by Russia and Iran, into closer proximity.

A U.S. warplane shot down a Syrian army jet near Raqqa in June and the SDF accused the Syrian government of bombing its positions, showing the risk of escalation between warring sides in a crowded battlefield.

The Syrian conflict, which started as a popular uprising against Assad in 2011, has drawn in the United States, Russia and regional powers. Peace talks have failed to bring an end to a war where Islamist groups have increasingly dominated Syria's armed opposition.

The SDF operation in Deir al-Zor province aims to capture areas in its northern and eastern countryside and advance towards the Euphrates, according to the Deir al-Zor Military Council, which is fighting as part of the SDF.

"The first step is to free the eastern bank of the Euphrates and the areas Islamic State still holds," Ahmed Abu Kholeh, head of the military council, told Reuters after the announcement.

"We're not specifying a timeframe but we hope it will be a quick operation," he said at the town of al-Shadadi in Hasaka province.

Abu Kholeh would not say whether there were plans to advance on Deir al-Zor city itself. "We don't know how the battles will go after this," he said.

He said SDF fighters did not expect clashes with Syrian government forces, but if fired upon "we will respond".

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported that SDF forces had advanced against IS in Deir al-Zor's northwestern countryside, seizing several hilltops and a village.

Syrian government forces and their allies reached Deir al-Zor military airport on the other side of the Euphrates, where troops had been holed up since 2014, surrounded by Islamic State, the commander in the pro-Assad alliance said.

The alliance includes Iran-backed militias and the powerful Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah.

The advance came days after the army and its allies broke the siege of the main part of the city, which had been separated from the airport by IS attacks a few months before.

Syrian troops also recaptured the Teym oilfield southwest of Deir al-Zor and seized part of a main highway running downstream to the city of al-Mayadeen, to which many IS militants have retreated, the British-based Observatory said.

That advance would help block potential IS reinforcements from al-Mayadeen, it said.

Islamic State in Syria still holds much of Deir al-Zor province and half the city, as well some territory further west near Homs and Hama, where government forces recaptured several villages on Saturday, pro-Damascus media reported.

But the group has lost most of its caliphate which from 2014 stretched across swathes of Syria and Iraq, including oil-rich Deir al-Zor.

The SDF is still battling to eject IS from the remaining areas it holds in Raqqa, northwest of Deir al-Zor and once the group's main Syria stronghold from where it planned attacks abroad.

Talks between Russia, Iran and opposition backer Turkey in the Kazakh capital Astana are to take place next week, possibly followed by a separate track at the United Nations in Geneva in October or November.

Assad's government has participated in previous rounds from a position of power as Damascus has clawed back much territory, including the main urban centers in the west of the country and increasingly eastern desert held by IS.

Syria's non-Islamist opposition holds some pockets of territory in western Syria, and the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, controls much of Syria's northeast.</s>Beirut: The Syrian army and its allies recaptured an oilfield from Islamic State near the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday in further advances against the militants, state TV reported.

Government forces also seized part of a main highway running from Deir al-Zor down to the city of al-Mayadeen, to which many Islamic State militants have retreated, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

The Syrian army this week broke through Islamic State lines to reach a government-held enclave of Deir al-Zor besieged for years by the jihadists, and is fighting to reach a nearby air base which IS still surrounds.

On Saturday, the army and militias fighting alongside it seized the Teym oilfield in desert south of Deir al-Zor, state TV said. Deir al-Zor is in an oil-rich area of Syria.

To the east of Teym and south of the air base, government forces also recaptured part of the main road running from Deir al-Zor to al-Mayadeen, downstream along the Euphrates river and closer to the Iraq border, the Observatory reported.

The British-based monitoring group said that advance would block potential Islamic State reinforcements from al-Mayadeen.

The advances put yet more pressure on Islamic State`s shrinking caliphate, which once stretched across northern and eastern Syria, and northwestern Iraq.

In Syria, the group holds much of Deir al-Zor province and half the city, as well as a pocket of territory near Hama and Homs in the west of the country.</s>The US government continues to shame itself around the globe by providing safe passage to its defeated Daesh terrorists in Syria. Completely ignoring the plight of the terrorists now would come to haunt the Deep State in the future. This is the reason why these rescue operations and “natural disasters” have to happen for the time being.

A military and diplomatic source has told Sputnik that a US Air Force plane had evacuated Daesh (ISIS, banned in Russia) field commanders from Deir ez-Zor. The US-led coalition has denied the allegations.

“Amid successful actions by Syrian government troops in the eastern part of Syria in late August, a number of field [Daesh] commanders backed by US special services, had been promptly evacuated from Deir ez-Zor to safer regions in order to use their experience in other directions,” a military and diplomatic source has told Sputnik.

The source said that the first such extraction took place on August 26, a “US Air Force helicopter” had evacuated 2 Daesh field commanders of “European origin” with members of their families from an area located to the north-west of Deir ez-Zor at night.

According to his data, two days later, US choppers transferred 20 Daesh field commanders and militants close to them from an area south-eastern of the city of Deir ez-Zor to northern Syria.

“Militants who lost their commanders due to the Americans, usually tend to cease organized actions, leave their positions, join other [Daesh terrorist] units or one by one flee. This eventually contributes to the success of the offensive by the Syrian government troops in eastern Syria,” the source said.

When contacted by Sputnik, the Combined Joint Task Force of the Operation Inherent Resolve’s press office has called the allegations “false.”

On Tuesday, the Syrian army assisted by Russia managed to finally break the three-year Daesh siege of the city of Deir ez-Zor, with food and ammunition only being delivered to the city by air, while helicopters from the city of Qamishli had been evacuating the wounded and delivering essential supplies to the city’s population.

When commenting on the successful operation on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian strikes on Daesh terrorist group’s positions, including today’s frigate’s strikes with cruise missiles from the Mediterranean, allowed the Syrian Armed Forces to break the 3-year siege of Deir ez-Zor. The Russian strikes conducted simultaneously by aviation and a warship destroyed Daesh fortified areas, undergound tunnels, artillery positions and ammunition depots near Deir ez-Zor.

The Russian military called the Deir ez-Zor victory the most important achievement of the Syrian army during the 6-year war.

We are rescuing our own allies

Asked to comment, Karen Kwiatkowski, a retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel turned anti-neoconservative activist, told us that these evacuees were likely people that the US military and intelligence establishment wanted to protect, “particularly people with evidence that could be used against the US [during] negotiations.”

“It makes a lot of sense that we would either want to kill those people or extract them before the Syrians could interrogate them,” Kwiatkowski said.

“That’s inconsistent with the top level message from President Trump for sure,” the retired officer added. “This set of relationships that the CIA, parts of the military and the State Department have with Daesh goes [back to before] Trump’s administration. It seems like they’re not following his orders here, but I’m sure there’s a larger agenda at stake.”

Kwiatkowski recalled that while Trump himself has been “consistent about eliminating these terrorists, the CIA runs its own operations, and they don’t consult with anybody; that would be consistent” from their standpoint.

The activist explained that CIA black programs don’t require day-to-day approval from the president. If that’s what this evacuation was, “this is standard operating procedure, and they don’t really care what the president says in a speech designed for the consumption of the American people.”

Kwiatkowski suggested that news of the Deir ez-Zor extraction stood in clear contrast to Washington’s public campaign against Daesh, including its operations against the Daesh convoy that’s currently stranded on the Syrian-Iraqi border.

“That’s populating our media – that the Americans are killing Daesh, not that the Americans are rescuing Daesh,” the Kwiatkowski said.

“Certainly, we are rescuing our allies. But to some extent, we are preserving people who have worked with us, people that are dealing with the financial aspects of our aid to Daesh, because that’s what’s going to be looked at in the autopsy of this operation. People are going to be saying: where did the money flow? Who knew about it? What was the American role? Americans will be asking that question too, not just the world.”

Ultimately, asked what would impact this news would have on public support for the president, Kwiatkowski said that for those who have an understanding of the neoconservative trajectory which has dominated US policy for many years, “we don’t expect as much of Trump. [But] for Trump voters, there is a problem. [They] bought into his less interventionist type of policy. He ran on that, he was elected on that. He gave some early speeches relating to this concept. That was pleasing to his supporters; it angered the neoconservatives.”

Today, the observer said, it’s clear that either the neocons are wearing Trump down, “or have somehow otherwise convinced him to allow them to do what they want to do.”

The report on the alleged US operation to rescue Daesh in Deir ez-Zor commanders has led Russian experts to call on President Trump to comment directly on the claims, and to ignore any CIA or Pentagon commentary… Russian defense analyst Igor Korotchenko said that Trump “must comment on this and declare clearly: either the evacuation of the Daesh field commanders was authorized by him personally and he assumes all political responsibility for this step, or the [US] special services acted without his approval.”</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Experts from the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces have been sent to Syria’s Deir ez-Zor, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press service said Monday.

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry pointed out that the Syrian army’s break of siege of Deir ez-Zor, supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces, was the biggest victory of Syrian government troops within the last three years.

“Over 40 experts from the leading unit of the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces, seven units of special equipment and a group of dog handlers with mine searching dogs have been transferred by military transport aircraft to the Syrian Hmeymim airbase,” the press release read.

According to the statement, a total of 175 servicemen and 42 equipment units will be sent to Syria to participate in mine clearing activities.

“First of all the bomb technicians will clear mines on roads leading to social infrastructure of the city, hospitals, schools, residential houses, water and electricity supply objects and historical sights,” the statement read further.

Last week, Syrian army made a major advance in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor breaking Islamic State terrorist group’s (Daesh, banned in Russia) blockade to the west and south of the city and putting an end to the siege of a military airfield to the east of Deir ez-Zor.

The operation to clear the province from terrorists is still underway.

© Photo: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation

 

Sputnik News

 

South Africa Today – World News – Middle East</s>“Syrian government troops, with the support of the Russian Air Force, achieved a major success, inflicting a devastating defeat on Daesh units in the area of the city of Deir ez Zor, which is bigger in scale than all previous victories over the past three years,” the statement read.

The Syrian military started an operation to retake the airbase on Friday, days after breaking the siege of Deir ez-Zor. A Sputnik correspondent reported earlier in the day that fierce fighting was ongoing near the base between Syrian troops and terrorists.

“Currently, the government troops under the command of Gen. Suheil Hassan together with the units, which had been under the siege at the Syrian military airbase, are widening the corridor between the airfield and Deir ez-Zor, carrying out successful military actions on the flanks,” the statement added.

The airbase is located two kilometers east of Deir ez-Zor. It has been blocked by the terrorists for more than three years. By the end of January, Daesh militants managed to cut off the communication routes between the city and the airbase. However, the Deir ez-Zor garrison held the defense despite regular Daesh attacks.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Sputnik correspondent was among the few reporters to be at the front line with the Syrian army troops when the blockade of the airbase in eastern Deir ez-Zor was broken.

Syria's Deir ez-Zor province was the largest hotbed of the most combat-ready units of the Daesh terrorist organization (banned in Russia). Terrorists of the so-called caliphate initially had the priority goal to take over the northern province of Syria and its administrative center.

The major part of the province is still occupied by militants. However, the terrorists failed to crush the resistance of Deir ez-Zor defenders.

"With the support of Saudi Arabia and the West, Daesh fighters attempted to seize the city. But thanks to our strong will for freedom and victory, you can see now that all their plots and plans are falling apart like a house of cards," an officer from the Syrian army says over a cup of herbal tea as he points out the forces' positions on the map.

Commanders of the assault troops are coordinating the airfield offensive at headquarters while terrorists’ shells explode 100 meters (328 feet) away.

Fighters of the republican guard, led by Gen. Issam Zakhreddine, are advancing the attack along the city’s southern border leading to the airbase. The elite Tiger Forces are in the middle of a fierce battle with Daesh at two areas further to the east.

"Terrorists did not expect such a confident offensive. They are used to our lack of ammunition. But today we have everything we need and our fellow fighters are with us," the guard officer says at the operation’s headquarters.

The headquarters, which is outside a university dormitory, looks like an ordinary checkpoint, but it has sought-after, cold, drinking water. At 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 degrees Fahrenheit) water tastes sweet. If you walk through the trenches, it will only take a half hour to get from the headquarters to the combat field.

But the task was given, and Gen. Suheil’s soldiers, along with the republican guard, decide to storm the hill before sunset.

The ammunition delivery is right on time. Less than two hours later, the injured commander reports with a smile that the dominant hill is retaken.

During a staff meeting at night, the general announces that during the first day of the operation to unblock the airfield, three officers were killed and seven more were injured.

ON THE WAY TO THE AIRBASE

The assault operation continued in the morning. Gen. Zakhreddine left us at the headquarters and led the assault troops straight to the airfield gate. Over the years of the siege and fighting against Daesh, the troops have discovered all the hidden trails that would allow them to avoid landmines.

The airbase troops did not sit up in shelters and set out to meet the republican guard forces. The terrorists were taken aback by this turn of events and were forced to flee, be it was already too late. After purging the remaining hills at the entrance to the airbase, the republican guard troops joined the airfield fighters at the checkpoint.

"We are reunited, mission accomplished. But there is no road yet. We went through a minefield. Bomb technicians are on the way," the general reported on the radio as triumphant tracers shot up in the sky over the city.

Deir ez-Zor celebrated throughout the night. Civilians who received first humanitarian aid congratulated each other and shared food.

"Today we are expecting the fifth convoy from the southern road. I hope that soon my wife will be able to cook me something other than beans, if she can still remember how," one of the commanders at the headquarters said.

Under siege for more than three years, Deir ez-Zor civilians have been receiving food by air. It was only possible to supply the minimum required for residents to survive. White beans were the main ingredient of all meals.

However, according to a soldier, boiled beans were still a luxury in Deir ez-Zor, because cooking required gas, fuel or firewood. The first two were very expensive. A can of household gas cost at least $200. One liter of fuel cost about $6.

Hunger and need, especially in winter, forced the locals to cut all of the already small number of trees in the area. When the last roots turned to ashes, doors and furniture followed. During the last months of the blockade, the people had to burn clothes to cook food.

"What the Leningrad Siege was for you during World War II, the Deir ez-Zor blockade became for us," an officer describes their life in the besieged city.

Despite the blockade having been broken through in the west, on September 5 the city residents and the military waited for the arrival of troops from the south through the main southern gates. Unblocking of the main road would mean opening the shortest route to Damascus and therefore allow for faster deliveries.

Syrian television installed their satellite dishes and began a live broadcast of the historic event. Soldiers raise their guns and send their regards to their families via phone calls.

"Do not film me, I have no family left. These beasts killed everybody. I have nobody to send a hello to," a tanned soldier covered in grime says.

A wearying hour goes by until an offroader belonging to the fifth corps’ commander appears on the horizon. Generals of the Deir ez-Zor defense walk toward him and the soldiers meet halfway to triumphant cheering. In that moment, forgetting about danger, the soldiers run toward each other with tears in their eyes, giving each other congratulatory embraces.

"These are tears of joy. I am from Deir ez-Zor and I swore that I would come back to my city down this very road on my own feet, not in a helicopter or a plane," Abu-Mahdi, an older soldier, said, wiping sweat and tears from his tanned face.

A minute later, it's revealed that one soldier was killed. Another one gets out of the car without a leg. The world stands still for a moment ringing in my ears.

The newly-arrived convoy is soon dispersed at the stations in the city. Commanders gather for a meeting.

In the next few days, chronicles of victories will continue in Deir ez-Zor. The government troops have to liberate the rest of the city, clear the airbase perimeter and continue liberating the provinces up to the last village at the border with Iraq.</s>The breaking of the siege of Deir ez-Zor by the Syrian army and its Russian ally marks the defeat of not just foreign-backed anti-government militants. It signals victory over the regime-change plot orchestrated by the US and its partners.

For three years, the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor had been besieged by militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terror network. This week the Syrian army broke the stranglehold and liberated the city with crucial help from Russian air power.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly sent a letter of congratulations to Syria’s Bashar Assad, a measure of the strategic significance of the event.

Deir ez-Zor on the Euphrates River had been the main terror hub in the country, serving as a supply corridor for IS between neighboring Iraq and Syria, according to Russia’s Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi. Now with the vanquishing of that hub, the terrorist remnants in Syria “face a crushing defeat.”

Last week, a headline in Britain’s Guardian newspaper put it succinctly, if not mendaciously. “Victory for Assad looks increasingly likely as world loses interest in Syria.”

The report went on to say: “States that were until recently committed to toppling the Syrian leader are now resigned to him staying.”

What the Guardian meant by its anodyne phrase “the world losing interest in Syria” is that the US and its NATO and regional allies have given up the ghost of overthrowing the Syrian government.

For more than six years since conflict broke out in March 2011, Syria has been the victim of an international criminal conspiracy led by the United States to topple President Assad and the Syrian state. The regime-change operation has been instrumented by the US and its allies sponsoring terrorist mercenary armies, while the Western mainstream news media served to distort the criminal enterprise by depicting it as a civil war.

It was Russia’s military intervention at the end of 2015 in support of the Syrian state that turned the tide. Military support from Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah also played a crucial role in turning the war in favor of the Syrian Arab Army.

The liberation of the northern city of Aleppo at the end of 2016 by Syrian and Russian forces was the beginning of the end for the US-backed covert war. Now the liberation of Deir ez-Zor spells the definitive defeat.

What The Guardian coyly calls “world losing interest in Syria” is attested to by several recent developments.

The general dropping by Western corporate news media of coverage on the war in Syria is a telltale signal that the geopolitical agenda of Western governments had shifted. Before the liberation of Aleppo in December, there were shrill, hysterical Western media reports of Syrian-Russian war crimes. The hysteria proved to be a complete fabrication as the liberated citizens of Aleppo and returning refugees began to rebuild their lives.

Over the past nine months, Western media coverage on Syria has steadily declined. To the point where this week’s momentous military victory by Syrian and Russian forces in Deir ez-Zor was bizarrely under-reported. Tellingly, instead of reporting on the liberation of the former ISIS stronghold, Western media tried to focus on a dubious report from the UN claiming that Assad’s forces had used sarin chemical weapons in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in April. Those hackneyed claims have been largely debunked by Russia and other independent sources, which said the CW attack was most likely a propaganda stunt by the Al Nusra terror group occupying the town, along with their White Helmets confederates.

Increasingly, the Western narrative on Syria has been shown to be a fraud. The reality of the US and its British and French allies, as well as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel attempting to topple a sovereign state, has become too transparent to continue concealing. Same too for the reality of Syria, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah liberating a country from Western-backed terrorist mercenaries. Therefore, Western media have, by necessity, had to drop their mendacious coverage.

The decision two months ago by US President Donald Trump to end CIA militant training programs in Syria was a de facto acknowledgment by Washington that the game was up. That has been followed by British Special Forces withdrawing from training camps for militants in Syria, as well as reports that the Saudi regime has terminated its bankrolling of the terror proxies.

The Kremlin’s confirmation this week that Saudi King Salman is to visit Moscow at the end of October is another indicator that the Saudis are trying to stem their losses in Syria.

Trump has backed off earlier US demands President Assad had to step down. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson have also reportedly resigned to accepting that the Syrian government is secure from being forcibly removed.

Reports of Jordan and Turkey lately trying to reestablish bilateral relations with Syria are further admissions that the regime-change plot against Assad has failed. Those two neighboring countries were vital conduits for US and NATO training camps, and Saudi-financed arms supplies to the militant proxies in Syria.

When Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu made his surprise trip to Moscow at the end of last month, his reported appeal to President Putin over Iran’s forces in Syria was another data point for the strategic sea-change.

It’s not totally clear-cut, however. The US-backed Kurdish forces assailing the other last remaining IS-held city of Raqqa in Syria’s northeast has seen relentless American air power deployed with horrendous civilian slaughter. US forces in Syria are of course illegal without any mandate from the Syrian government or the UN. While the US-led regime-change covert war in Syria appears to be all but lost, US military intervention still poses a threat to Syrian territorial integrity.

Nevertheless, Syria and its Russian, Iranian and Lebanese allies are emerging as the victors. The historical significance cannot be overstated. For the past two decades, the US and its allies have been on a roll of criminal regime-change wars across the Middle East – with impunity.

That roll has now hit a strategic dead-end in Syria, largely because of Russia’s principled military intervention under President Putin.

Syria has been saved from a fate of failed state unlike so many other victims of America’s Orwellian “nation-building.” Or, to put it more accurately, Russia has saved Syria from US state-sponsored terrorism.

It is a seminal historical victory. But American imperialism will not give up there. We should expect the global battlefield to shift. The West’s contempt for Russia and Putin will doubtless intensify because of the strategic setback in Syria.

It is perhaps no surprise, then, that Washington has turned to stoking war with North Korea as a way to create problems for Russia. The Pentagon’s proposed stepping up of lethal weapons to the anti-Russian Kiev regime in Ukraine, as well as provocations from the seizure of Russian diplomatic properties in the US, are also acts of revenge for Putin’s successes in Syria.
Russian airstrikes on several ferries attempting to cross the Euphrates near Deir ez-Zor kill at least 34 civilians, including 9 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.