#1 Syria Thread

[Ray Allan]

Published September 15, 2017

I always enjoy watching the Maria Zakharova Show.

Auto-translate isn't very good, though.

Russia: SAA advance over Euphrates River in latest push against IS - Zakharova

Russia: SAA advance over Euphrates River in latest push against IS - Zakharova

[Dominus]

US Secret Services Initiate al-Nusra Front Attack in Syria's Idlib - Russian MoD

Al-Nusra Front terrorists used artillery, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles during their offensive in the Idlib de-escalation zone, the Russian General Staff said on Wednesday. The US secret services were said to be behind the attack.

"Despite agreements signed on September 15 in Astana, al-Nusra Front terrorists and allied militants, who do not want to uphold a cease-fire, launched a strong offensive on the positions of the government troops on September 19 to the north and northeast of the city of Hama in the Idlib de-escalation zone," the General Staff's statement said.

The militants' attack was "initiated by US secret services to stop the successful advance of the government troops to the east of Deir ez-Zor," it adds. The militants managed to penetrate Syrian army defenses to the depth of some 12 kilometers.

"In general, as a result of measures undertaken by the Russian command and the Syrian general staff, the terrorist offensive was stopped, and they suffered significant damage," the chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff, Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said.

A Russian military police unit of 29 personnel was encircled as the militants sought to capture it and was repelling the attacks for several hours together with a local tribe that had signed a cease-fire agreement. A group of Russian Spetsnaz and Syrian special operations forces came to the rescue, backed by Su-25 strike fighters. The military police unit broke the siege and left the area. Three servicemen were wounded.

The Syrian Army, supported by Russian warplanes, launched a counterattack and have almost completely reclaimed their positions in the Idlib de-escalation zone. The operation to destroy terrorists will continue, the General Staff said.

"A total of 187 terrorist targets were hit by air strikes and artillery fire, about 850 terrorists, 11 tanks, 4 infantry fighting vehicles, 46 pick-up trucks, 5 mortars, and 38 weapons depots were destroyed," Rudskoy added.

Russian Aerospace Forces Help Break Through Jebhat-an-Nusra Blockade

Russian Aerospace Forces Help Break Through Jebhat-an-Nusra Blockade

What's Behind al-Nusra Front Attack on Russian Military Police in Idlib

The United States and its allied militant groups in Syria are consolidating forces, as toppling President Bashar Assad continues to remain Washington’s principal goal in the conflict, including the recent al-Nusra Front offensive in Idlib, which was repelled by the Russian military, experts.

The recent advances by the Syrian Army and its allies, in particular in Deir ez-Zor, have become a serious concern for the Pentagon and triggered counteractions by terrorist groups, according to Araik Stepanyan, executive secretary of the Academy for Geopolitical Problems.

"Our so-called American partners are nervous. There is almost no secret that Washington controls both Daesh and al-Nusra Front. Moreover, the US provides arms to the so-called moderate opposition in Syria. As a result, such weird things are happening. They are authorized by the Americans," Stepanyan told referring to the incident that took place earlier this week in the de-escalation zone in Idlib.

A Russian military police unit numbering 29 personnel was encircled and repelled the terrorists’ attacks for several hours until Russian Spetsnaz and Syrian Special Ops units, backed by Su-25 strike fighters, came to the rescue breaking the enemy siege.

The Russian General Staff said that the attack was "initiated by US secret services to stop the successful advance of government troops to the east of Deir ez-Zor." Washington, however, has denied the allegations.

Commenting on the statement, Russian political analyst Mikhail Smolin said that the Russian military is trustworthy in this situation.

"In fact, Russia and the US don’t have common goals in Syria. The mission of the Americans and their allies is not over yet. Their plan is to oust [Syrian President Bashar] Assad. The goal of the US military is to consolidate anti-Assad forces," Smolin said.

Elaborating further, the expert pointed to the fact that the tactic used by the Pentagon and its allied groups resembles "guerilla warfare" because the attack was directed against a separate military police unit.

"They [the Americans] have done that before. Apparently, their goal is to increase the number of such incidents. Possibly, they want to make the situation look like the Russian units in Syria are not capable enough of countering serious attacks. However, this time the plan didn’t work out," Smolin said.

After the attack in Idlib was repelled, the Syrian Army, supported by Russian warplanes, launched a counterattack and almost completely reclaimed their positions in the de-escalation zone. Three servicemen were wounded in the attack. According to the Russian military, a total of 187 terrorist targets were hit by airstrikes and artillery fire and about 850 terrorists were destroyed.

Russia's Aerospace Forces 'Turned the Table on Terrorists' in Syria

With over 87 percent of Syrian territory already free from Daesh and over 96,000 terrorist installations destroyed by Russian airstrikes, peace in the war-torn country may still be far off as new opposition groups have come into play, many of them financed by the US, a military expert told Sputnik.

“The Syrian Army, backed by Russia, has obviously turned the table on the terrorists, and this is something even our sworn enemies can’t deny. Less than 15 percent of Syrian territory is now controlled by anti-government forces,” Viktor Baranets said.

He added, however, that it could take the Syrian Army and Russia’s Aerospace Forces years to claw these 15 percent back because there are new forces emerging in Syria with the help of the United States, which has forked over a hefty $2 billion to rearm the so-called Syrian Free Army.

“[This] means that the road to victory will be long and winding,” he added.
Russian warplanes have flown over 30,000 sorties since the start of their mission in Syria, destroying more than 96,000 terrorist installations.

These include 8,332 command posts, 17,194 strongpoints, 53,707 militant concentrations, 970 training camps, 6,769 arms and ammunition depots, 212 oilfields, 184 oil refineries and thousands of other targets.

“By the time our Aerospace Forces started pounding the terrorists in Syria, the Americans had already been bombing them for two years with more than 6,000 sorties flown. As a result, more than half of the country’s territory was under Daesh control. The more the Americans bombed Daesh, al-Nusra Front and others, the more territories were falling under the militants’ control. Now it’s the other way round,” Baranets said.

The Euphrates River Valley now remains the only large chunk of Syrian land still under Daesh control, and the advancing forces of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) have already liberated parts of it.

Russia, along with Iran and local militia forces, has been assisting the Syrian government in its fight against terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the Arab country since 2011.

The ongoing war in Syria has left an estimated 220,000 dead and displaced some 12 million, many of them flooding surrounding nations, as well as Europe, making it the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, according to the United Nations.

[littlefieldjohn]

Originally Posted by Dominus

Russian Aerospace Forces Help Break Through Jebhat-an-Nusra Blockade

Russia Emerges as Victor in Syrian War
The time is fast approaching for Putin and Assad to declare "Mission Accomplished"

http://russia-insider.com/en/militar...an-war/ri20957

[Dominus]

Russia Reveals Footage of US Forces Near ISIS Positions North of Deir-ez-Zor

The Russian Defense Ministry released aerial footage of the ISIS positions north of Syria's city of Deir ez-Zor that showed the US equipment deployed in the area.

The photos posted on Russia's Defense Ministry's Facebook page on Sunday show equipment that is being used by the US special forces.

"The aerial photographs, taken on September 8-12, 2017 in the areas of ISIS troops' deployment, detected a big number of US Hummer armored vehicles, used by the US Army's special forces," the ministry wrote on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/mod.mil.rus...85701461672600






The Defense ministry added that the footage clearly showed that the units of US Army's special forces were deployed in the footholds previously set up by ISIS militants. However, no signs of ongoing clashes with terrorists, as well as shell craters left after the coalition's airstrikes were seen.

"Despite the strongholds of the US armed forces being located where ISIS militants are currently deployed, there are not even signs of the organization of a battle outpost. This shows that all the US servicemen who are currently there, feel completely safe in the areas under the terrorists control," the ministry outlined.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/911876787403149313

[Ray Allan]

The Russians have better photos than this, but won't release them. Spy satellites can take such detailed pictures, they probably have ones showing individual USZOG soldiers' faces who can be identified by name, rank and everything.

[Dominus]

Originally Posted by Ray Allan

The Russians have better photos than this, but won't release them. Spy satellites can take such detailed pictures, they probably have ones showing individual USZOG soldiers' faces who can be identified by name, rank and everything.

That is possibly true because the soldiers of Novorussia who fought for example in the battle for Donbass airport (but in many other places also), they said that in the clashes they saw a dozen dead niggers and mexicans (or other central-south Americans) among dead Ukrainians. These niggers and mexicans all had US documents. It was all recorded on phone cameras but the secret service in Novorussia took every footage about them and it was strictly forbidden to talk about them, not a single word. I don't know why Russia is not showing these evidences, they have probably tons and tons of them and they could discredit the ZogUS easily on so many levels.

«We are assisting with that» – Yankee G.I. in Ukraine

«We are assisting with that» – Yankee G.I. in Ukraine

В Харьков прибыли американ�кие наемники-негры

В Харьков прибыли американ�кие наемники-негры

[littlefieldjohn]

http://russia-insider.com/en/militar...-syria/ri21021

Sources Confirm Our Scoop - a Huge Russian Victory Over ‘US Secret Services’ in Syria

A lot of people didn't believe us, or the Russian Defense Ministry. Turns out we were right.

Mainstream media still keeping mum about this very important development!

"In plain English this means that the US and Daesh have lost the war." - the Saker



On Wednesday evening, we broke the almost unbelievable story that the Russian Defense Ministry was claiming that:

A) ‘US Secret Services’ had directed a major offensive against Russian - Syrian forces,

B) a goal was the capture of 29 Russian peacekeepers,

C) the attack was foiled in dramatic, heavy fighting involving many Russian troops,

D) the US-backed and directed forces suffered a devastating defeat. Losses included:

850 TERRORISTS, 11 TANKS, 46 PICKUPS, 20 TRUCKS and 38 WEAPONS WAREHOUSES!

All this seemed almost surreal when we saw it on the ticker, and we just reported that this is what the Russians were claiming.

If true, it meant a massive setback for the US and Israel and their radical Islamist proxies.

The story was picked up everywhere and went viral.

A lot of people were skeptical that this could possibly be true. Even we had our doubts.

Well, since then, a lot of evidence has come out suggesting that it is largely correct:





We also called SyrianGirl, and asked her what she thinks. She told us her sources on the ground were confirming that it is largely true and that the losses are devastating. She thinks the Russians are probably inflating the number of casualties, but not by much.


SyrianGirl is almost prophetic on Syrian issues, check her out on Twitter.

The Saker, one of the best informed military and Syria analysts out there also has an excellent article out this morning about the battle. Check it out for a more detailed analysis of what happened. He’s saying it is a very big deal and a major defeat for the US.

A brief quote:

In plain English this means that the US and Daesh have lost the war and that the last region of Syrian from which the AngloZionists can hope to partition the country (their current “plan B”) and establish a permanent US military presence is now threatened by the Syrian advance.
Here is the transcript of the Russian News Report:

SHOW HOST:

Let's move on to the Defence Ministry's statements on the situation in Syria, and about USA's rather exotic contribution to the fight against terrorism in Syria. ( LOL!)

US intelligence organized a massive offensive of the terrorist group Jabhat Al-Nusra, forbidden in Russia, on the outskirts of Hama, a city located in one of the de-escalation zones, in disregard of the ceasefire agreement.

They wedged in the government force's defense, trying to surround them, and encircled a Russian military police unit, wounding 3 Russians.

The reason has been revealed. In fact, Pentagon is trying to prevent the Syrian army from moving to the east of Deir ez-Zor, which appears to run counter to American geopolitical plans. Ekaterina Mironova has the details:

REPORTER:

The ceasefire agreement was signed in Astana 5 days ago. But Jabhat Al-Nusra militants don't feel like respecting it.

The terrorists launched a massive offensive against government troops in the Idlib province, which is one of the 4 de-escalation zones.

The Defence Ministry's briefing says that the offensive was prepared with considerable firepower. The terrorists used tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in combat.

As a result, they managed to wedge in the government forces' defense by up to 12 km.

Another task of Jabhat Al-Nusra was to capture a Russian military police unit. The platoon's function in Syria is peacekeeping.

The Ministry supposes that the militants were controlled from overseas. According to the data available, the offensive was orchestrated by the American intelligence services to stop the government troops' successful progress to the east of Deir ez-Zor.

As a result of the militants' attack the military police platoon was blocked.

They were repelling attacks for several hours, outnumbered by the enemy, shoulder-to-shoulder with the unit of Moali tribe, which signed the ceasefire agreement and adhered to it in such a difficult situation.

The Russian military immediately formed a group to deblock and to rescue the policemen.

The group was backed by Su-25 attack aircraft. They attacked from extremely low height. As a result, the encirclement was broken.




Three Russian fighters were wounded. This operation stopped the terrorists, dealing a serious blow to them. All the participants have been granted state decorations.

Within 24 hours, air strikes and artillery hit 187 objects, destroyed about 850 terrorists, 11 tanks, 4 infantry fighting vehicles, 46 pickups, 5 mortars, 20 trucks, 38 weapon warehouses.


Capitalizing on the situation, the Syrian government troops launched a counteroffensive, reversing the momentum.

[StanSikorski]

If you had told me as a young man back in the mid 80's that I would be actively rooting for the Russians when I got older I would have told you to go jump in a lake. But here I am today, smiling, laughing, and raising a glass to those magnificent Slavic bastards! I hope they tear the jews and their servants a new one completely.

[Ray Allan]

Russian general killed in Syria's Dayr al-Zawr by Daesh

A Russian general has been killed by Daesh (ISIS) terrorists close to Syria's eastern Dayr al-Zawr province.

According to a statement released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday, Lieutenant-General Valery Asapov was killed this morning after coming under Daesh mortar fire.

The statement added that Asapov, a senior military advisor in the country, was stationed at a Syrian command outpost aiding in the liberation of Dayr al-Zawr when he was killed.

"As a result of a sudden mortar shelling by Daesh militants, Lieutenant-General Valery Asapov was fatally wounded by an exploding shell," read the statement.

In early September, the ministry announced the death of two more Russian servicemen in Daesh shelling in Syria. Together with Asapov, that brings the overall death toll of Russian troops in Syria to 37.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/09...-daesh-general

[Dominus]

Originally Posted by Ray Allan

Russian general killed in Syria's Dayr al-Zawr by Daesh



http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/09...-daesh-general

In other words he was killed by the CIA. Those goatfuckers would never know the precise position without pentagon logistics, satellite coordinates etc.....
I think Russians will give a proper answer to pentagon kikes very soon. Last time they bombed a bunker in which there were killed a dozen black-ops agents, mostly CIA agents but also some Mossad, BND, MI6 and some French too.
https://geopolitics.co/2016/09/24/ru...allepo-bunker/
One thing is for sure, Russians always give a proper answer.


Rest in peace, general!

[Alex Him]

Published on September 22, 2017

The launch of cruise missiles Kalibr on the targets of terrorists in Syria from the submarine Veliky Novgorod

The launch of cruise missiles Kalibr on the targets of terrorists in Syria from the submarine Veliky Novgorod

Published on September 25, 2017

Air strike on Multiple Launch Rocket Systems of terrorists

Air strike on Multiple Launch Rocket Systems of terrorists

Destruction of the underground base of militants in the Province of Idlib by the Air and Space Forces of Russia

Destruction of the underground base of militants in the Province of Idlib by the Air and Space Forces of Russia

Destruction of workshops for equipping "jihadmobiles" in Idlib Province

Destruction of workshops for equipping "jihadmobiles" in Idlib Province

The air strikes on armored vehicles of militants in the province of Idlib

The air strikes on armored vehicles of militants in the province of Idlib

[Alex Him]

Published a few minutes ago

Air strikes on the targets of ISIS in Syria by Tu-95MS strategic bomber with cruise missiles KhA-101

Air strikes on the targets of ISIS in Syria by Tu-95MS strategic bomber with cruise missiles KhA-101

[Dominus]

Five Idlib Terrorists Who Staged Raid on Russian Military Police Killed - MoD

Five influential field commanders in the terrorist-controlled northern Syrian province of Idlib who had taken part in an attack on Russian military police officers on September 18 have been killed, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — "Five field commanders were eliminated" in a Russian airstrike on the terrorist-held Syrian province of Idlib, Konashenkov said, adding that along with the commanders, 32 more militants had been killed. A nearby ammunition and explosives depot as well as six SUVs with large-caliber weapons were also eliminated.

Konashenkov stressed that a precise missile airstrike was waged only after data of warlords' meeting form various cahnnels was collected.

"Special measures to find and destroy all the militants involved in the attack on Russian servicemen in Syria are continuing," he said.

Moreover, Konashenkov highlighted that the fact of the death of the leadership and junior officers of Jabhat al-Nusra from the airstrike had been confirmed through several independent channels.

On September 18, a 29-person strong Russian military police unit was encircled and repelled the terrorists’ attacks for several hours fighting alongside members of an allied local tribe until Russian Spetsnaz and Syrian Special Ops units, backed by Su-25 strike fighters, came to the rescue, breaking the enemy siege. The terrorist offensive has largely been stopped, leaving 850 militants dead and 11 tanks, four armored vehicles and other military hardware completely destroyed. The Syrian Army, supported by Russian warplanes, launched a counterattack and has almost completely reclaimed positions it lost in the Idlib de-escalation zone. Three servicemen were wounded in the attack. According to the Russian military, a total of 187 terrorist targets were hit by airstrikes and artillery fire and about 850 terrorists were destroyed.

The attack was carried out against Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an umbrella terrorist group spearheaded this year by the former Al-Nusra Front which now controls Syria's Idlib governorate. While some countries such as the United States have flagged HTS as a terrorist group, Russian officials continue to refer to the Salafist jihadist terrorist organization by its old Al-Nusra moniker. Al-Nusra was the official Syrian branch of al-Qaeda until 2016, when it ostensibly split from the world's most well-known terrorist network.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/2...ttack-killing/

[Alex Him]

Published on September 28, 2017

Air strike against the concentration of militants in the province of Idlib

Air strike against the concentration of militants in the province of Idlib

Air strike of Russia's Air and Space Forces on armored vehicles of rebels Jabhat Al-Nusra in the province of Idlib

Air strike of Russia's Air and Space Forces on armored vehicles of rebels Jabhat Al-Nusra in the province of Idlib

Air strike of Russia's Air and Space Forces on vehicles of terrorists in the province of Idlib

Air strike of Russia's Air and Space Forces on vehicles of terrorists in the province of Idlib

Air strike of Russia's Air and Space Forces on armored vehicles of militants in the province of Idlib

Air strike of Russia's Air and Space Forces on armored vehicles of militants in the province of Idlib

[Alex Him]

Published on September 29, 2017


Specialists of the International Mine Action Center of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have started the humanitarian demining of Deir-ez-Zor.

At present, to ensure the safety of humanitarian convoys sent to the city of Deir ez Zor, engineering reconnaissance and mine clearance teams are working on clearing roads, roadsides and adjacent buildings at the entrances to the city and its outskirts. Russian engineers use the newest mine detectors IMP-2S, portable explosive device control wire searchers PIPL, portable searchers of proximity explosive devices INVU-3M, radar subsurface sounding OKO-2, radio control device locks and other promising samples.

In total, more than 170 servicemen of the International Mine Action Center of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, 40 units of special and engineering equipment, and 10 platoons of mine detection service have been transferred to Syria.

For the first days, Russian sappers tested 8 km of roads, 8 buildings, about 3 hectares of territories. At the same time, about 1,500 explosive items were discovered and destroyed, including about 100 homemade explosive devices.

Humanitarian mine clearance by Russian sappers of the city of Deir ez Zor

Humanitarian mine clearance by Russian sappers of the city of Deir ez Zor

[Robbie Key]

Russian air strikes kill 2,000+ ISIS, Al-Nusra terrorists in Syria in 11 days – military
Published time: 30 Sep, 2017 13:40
Edited time: 30 Sep, 2017 14:40
Get short URL

Russian air strikes in Syria between September 19 and 29 resulted in the deaths of 2,359 militants with a further 2,700 or so wounded, the Russian Ministry of Defense has announced. 16 field commanders, and over 400 citizens from the former USSR are among the casualties.

“Terrorist organizations Islamic State and Al-Nusra have sustained their most serious losses for the last several months. Due to the effective operations of the Russian forces, they have been seriously weakened,” said a statement from the ministry, released on Saturday.

The ministry said that over 11 days Russian aircraft destroyed 67 militant outposts, 51 armories, 27 tanks, 21 rocket launchers and nearly 200 specialized vehicles belonging to the Islamist groups.

The ministry said that the air strikes helped repel counter-offensives by militants in the provinces of Idlib and Deir ez-Zor. A region on the Iraqi border, Deir ez-Zor has seen some of the heaviest fighting anywhere in Syria over the past few months.

“With help from the Russian Air Force, the Syrian army is currently completing the encirclement and destruction of a large Islamic State force, numbering about 1,500 fighters, which invaded from Iraq, in the eastern part of Deir ez-Zor,” said the ministry.

September 30 marks the second anniversary of the Russian army’s involvement in the Syrian conflict, at the behest of the government of Bashar Assad. Moscow recently said that government forces have retaken control of 85 percent of the country's territory.

https://www.rt.com/news/405121-russi...ill-2000-isis/

[littlefieldjohn]

These zog- staged "wars of liberation" overseas are much akin to the "liberation" political attempts here in America; it's all about the jew's attempt to dominate. Meanwhile any effective arguments contesting their lies are labeled as "hate" by their media.

[littlefieldjohn]

SYRIANGIRL's Facebook Ban Linked to Russia-gate Twitter Purge? - an Exclusive Interview


"I’m quiet(sp)devastated. I put 5 years into that platform."

She thinks her account got caught up in the recent Twitter / Facebook purge of Russian-linked accounts.

SYRIANGIRL, the Australian activist Youtuber and social media powerhouse tweeted on Thursday evening (EST) that her Facebook account has been blocked for her exposure of fraud during the Kurdistan referendum. She had 75,000 followers.

She also has 70,000 followers on Twitter, and 75,000 subscribers to her excellent Youtube channel.




She gave RI an exclusive interview on Friday, explaining that Facebook acted without warning, (which is unusual - usually they give people a chance to correct whatever is upsetting the censors), and so far have not responded to emails.

http://russia-insider.com/en/politic...erview/ri21101

[Alex Him]

Published on September 30, 2017


The attacks of the terrorist groups Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS in the west and east of Syria, which lasted for the last week, ended in failure.

The attacks of the militants coordinated by the time and directions on the positions of the Syrian troops in Idlib and Deir ez-Zor provinces, they were successfully neutralized with the support of the Russian Air Force and the attacking militants were destroyed.

The terrorist groups ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra suffered the most serious losses in the last few months. The Russian Air Force with effective actions caused considerable damage the combat potential of Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS.

Successful actions of Syrian troops on the ground were facilitated by active armed support "on the ground" by armed formations that joined the reconciliation process in the provinces of Aleppo, Hama, Homs and El Quneitra.

As a result of precise air strikes by Russian military aviation, from September 19 to 29 confirmed losses of terrorists amounted to 2,359 militants killed and about 2,7 thousand wounded. Among them, 16 field commanders of various levels and more than 400 extremists, immigrants from Russia and CIS countries. 67 support points, 27 tanks, 21 rocket launcher systems, 149 off-road vehicles with heavy machine guns, 17 "jihad mobile" and 51 ammunition depots were destroyed.

Currently, the Syrian troops, with the support of the Russian Air Force, are completing an operation to encircle and destroy the large grouping (more than 1.5 thousand) of ISIS fighters invading from the territory of Iraq to the east of Deir ez-Zor province.

Air strike of the Russian Air Force on the base of Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria

Air strike of the Russian Air Force on the base of Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria

Air strike of the Russian Federation Air Force on the supporting point of ISIS in Syria

Air strike of the Russian Federation Air Force on the supporting point of ISIS in Syria

Destruction of a terrorist tank in Syria by the Russian Air Force

Destruction of a terrorist tank in Syria by the Russian Air Force

Destruction of antiaircraft gun of militants by air strike of the Russian Federation Air Force in Syria

Destruction of antiaircraft gun of militants by air strike of the Russian Federation Air Force in Syria

[Ray Allan]

I hope the olive trees or whatever was growing there were not too badly damaged when the ISIS guns were destroyed.