Pro-Assad Forces Experience Setbacks Despite Russian Military Intervention

Pro-Assad Forces Experience Setbacks Despite Russian Military Intervention http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=8778 by Study Group Writer

Despite the Russian military intervention in the Syrian regional war on behalf of the Assad and Iranian regimes, the fight continues to be fought at a stalemate. This past week in particular has been tough for the Russia/Iran/Syria axis when IRGC BG Hossein Hamedani was killed on 08 OCT during an "advisory mission" in the Aleppo-area combatting the Islamic State (IS). BG Hamedani's death was a heavy blow to the effort to keep IS and al-Nusra at bay, representing the highest-profile casualty that side has sustained thus far in this war. Hamedani had been involved in the IRGC's operations in Syria for four years and was instrumental in the establishment of the Assad regime's "National Defense Forces" - a paramilitary entity used to augment the active duty Army and Hezbollah forces.

Senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards general killed in Syria
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Senior-Iranian-Revolutionary-Guards-general-killed-in-Syria-421494

Iranian General Killed in Syria
http://www.wsj.com/articles/iranian-general-killed-by-isis-in-aleppo-1444384644

Iran general did 80 missions in Syria, mourners told
http://www.france24.com/en/20151011-iran-general-did-80-missions-syria-mourners-told?ns_campaign=reseaux_sociaux&ns_source=twitter&ns_mchannel=social&ns_linkname=depeche&aef_campaign_ref=partage_user&aef_campaign_date=2015-10-11

BG Hamedani
Source: Associated Free Press

Here's our favorite image of BG Hamedani
Source: The ISIS Study Group

Just when things couldn't possibly get worse for Assad and his Iranian friends - they did. Senior Hezbollah commander Hassan al-Haj was also killed recently during the ongoing offensive that was launched in Hamah, al-Ghab and Idlib as mentioned in "Russia Supports New Syrian Offensive and Begins Prepping For Russian Ground OPs." Hassan was on the ground with forces in the Hamah-area. The loss of Hassan was just as signifiant as BG Hamedani's death as the former was the highest-ranking Hezbollah commander in the country. Hassan was a hardcore believer of the late-Ayatollah Khomeini's militant ideology and strived to live in his image. As one would guess, he had a lot in common with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Hassan al-Haj was one of a handful of people who Nasrallah trusted in full confidence (the late-Imad Mugniyah was another such individual). The last time Hezbollah suffered a loss of this magnitude was the death of senior commander Ibrahim al-Haj aka "Haj Salman" in Northern Iraq that we discussed in last year's "The Hezbollah Presence In Iraq" and "Update on the Death of Hezbollah Commander Ibrahim al-Haj." Yesterday a combined force of Hezbollah, IRGC-Qods Force and LAFA personnel managed to seize multiple villages in the area. However, those gains may prove too costly later on down the road.

Report: Top Hezbollah Commander in Syria Killed by Rebels
http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/10/11/report-key-hezbollah-commander-killed-by-rebels-in-syria/#

Hezbollah mourns senior commander killed in Syria
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/12/us-mideast-crisis-syria-lebanon-hezbolla-idUSKCN0S61C220151012

Russia Supports New Syrian Offensive and Begins Prepping For Russian Ground OPs
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=8669

The Hezbollah Presence In Iraq…
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=358

Update on the Death of Hezbollah Commander Ibrahim al-Haj
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=400

Hezbollah Grand-Poohbah Hassan Nasrallah (Left) and Hassan al-Haj (Right)
Source: The ISIS Study Group

The late-Ibrahim al-Haj
Source: The ISIS Study Group

As much as Russia's airstrikes have been hyped (and we concede they have been more active in this past week than the entire US Air Force has in the last 6 months), they haven't been targeting IS as much as they have al-Nusra and the FSA factions that the Obama administration had been arming for the past year (reference the above-mentioned "Russia Supports New Syrian Offensive and Begins Prepping For Russian Ground OPs"). The focus being placed on these other anti-Assad factions by the Russian Air Force has enabled IS to exploit the situation by seizing several villages near Aleppo - the closest that Team Baghdadi has been to the former Syrian commercial capital in two years. This past weekend saw the most gains from IS' march towards the city. The following excerpt is from the Guardian:

“Russian planes are striking the Free Syrian Army and laying the groundwork for Daesh [Isis] control of strategic areas in Aleppo,” said a source from Tajammu al-Izzah, a moderate opposition group backed by western and Gulf states which has been hit by Russian airstrikes. “The truth is that Russia is backing Isis.”

Many of these factions have voiced suspicions that Vlad is attempting to force them into making one of two choices: support Assad or IS. No doubt that's part of Vlad's strategy, but the other part that we touched on in "Russia Supports New Syrian Offensive and Begins Prepping For Russian Ground OPs" when we discussed how he was targeting them to demonstrate President Obama's weakness and how he's not a reliable ally. Judging by everything that has come out over the last few days, Vlad easily accomplished this goal while his American counterpart was left stuttering in a 60 Minutes interview talking about how real leadership is "pursuing climate change." Right.

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