Zero Hedge probably deserves a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting and analysis of the Syrian situation. (Disclosure: Zero Hedge has featured SLL articles.) It is certainly more deserving than any of the mainstream media organs. From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:
While the recently unveiled Iraqi assault on Mosul (with US support) continues, in what some have speculated is an election stunt meant to liberate Mosul just ahead of the November 8 vote and provide a boost for the Hillary campaign, while others see even more ulterior motives, namely to “grant” ISIS fighters free passage out of Iraq and into Syria to fight Assad, there may be some complications. According to press reports citing Iraqi intelligence sources, today the Islamic State rounded up and killed 284 men and boys as Iraqi-led coalition forces closed in on Mosul, the terror group’s last major stronghold in Iraq.
Those killed Thursday and Friday were used as human shields against attacks forcing ISIS out of southern parts of Mosul, the source said. ISIS dumped the corpses in a mass grave at the defunct College of Agriculture in northern Mosul, the intelligence source said. The victims, including children, were all shot, said the source, who asked for anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. CNN could not independently confirm the killings.
Separately, according to Reuters, roughly 1,000 people had been treated for breathing problems linked to toxic gases from a sulphur plant which ISIS militants are suspected to have set on fire near the city of Mosul. No deaths were reported in connection with the incident, said the sources at the hospital in Qayyara, a town south of Mosul.
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At the same time, in Russia’s latest public bid to preserve the Syrian status quo, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in televized remarks on Saturday that Assad needs to stay in power to prevent the country from falling into the hands of jihadis, and added that the entire territory of Syria must be “liberated,” dismissing demands for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s departure as “thoughtless.”
“There are just two options: Assad sitting in Damascus or the Nusra sitting in Damascus,” Peskov said in a reference to the Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s branch in Syria that renamed itself Fatah al-Sham Front earlier this year. “And Assad must sit in Damascus to ensure a political settlement.” The spokesman said the goal of the Russian campaign is to fight “terrorists,” saying that the fall of the Syrian government would cause new flows of refugees and more terror attacks in Europe.
Referring to the US, Peskov then said that “some countries are trying to play with the devil and use terrorists to get rid of Assad, and some just say thoughtlessly that Assad must leave,” Peskov said. “If Damascus falls and terrorists take hold there, there will be no political settlement then.” He said there is little hope that the Syrian conflict could end soon, adding that it will require a “long and hard work by the international community.”
“The territory of Syria must be liberated,” Peskov said. “It must be liberated and everything must be done to prevent the country’s breakup, which could have catastrophic consequences for the entire region.”
Peskov’s statement comes as the break in the fighting Russia has declared in the besieged city of Aleppo entered its third day. He said Russia’s decision to extend the break, which was initially declared for just one day Thursday, wasn’t a concession to Western pressure.
To continue reading: Kremlin Slams Demands For Assad’s Ouster As ISIS Kills Hundreds Of “Human Shields” In Mosul
