Lessons in Syria’s Shia Cities Nubl and Al-Zahraa Liberation

Rasa - It is exactly one year since the retaking of Syrian towns of Nubl and Al-Zahraa and this laid the grounds for the complete liberation of Aleppo and other areas of the country.

News ID: 427109

Date: 04 February 2017 - 05:31

RNA - The siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa in Aleppo province was laid in July 2012 by foreign-backed Takfiri terrorist groups and they were the last towns to be occupied by terrorists north of Aleppo. The four year siege was lifted on 3 February 2016, as a result of a successful offensive by the Syrian army and allied resistance forces.

The strategic victory in Nubl and Al-Zahraa had important implications, especially from a military perspective, on the eventual liberation of Aleppo, which was cleared of Takfiri terrorists last December.

These towns are located 20 km Northwest of Aleppo and 40 kilometers from the Turkish borders, and that is why they are of significant strategic importance.

US backed terrorists

The two strategically important towns, with an estimated population of more than 30,000, were under the control of various militant factions and Takfiri terrorist groups including the al Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front which later changed its name to Fateh al-Sham. Some of the groups which had laid siege on the towns especially the Free Syrian Army received direct and massive military support from the United State, Saudi regime and Turkey.

The Syrian Army, and local resistance forces were welcomed by jubilant residents who had survived for years without enough amid fierce fighting.

The residents of the towns also assisted government forces in fighting and eventually defeating the terrorists who were forces to flee to Syria. Following the liberation, residents of the towns expressed their gratitude to the Syrian army and also Russia which provided air support, Hezbollah resistance movement which has fighters on the ground and Iran which provides military advice to Syrian forces

Military lessons

The operation to liberate Nubl and Al-Zahraa can be used as a case study in military lessons on how to achieve victory on other battle fronts. Indeed Syrian forces gained morale and drew major lessons from the battle of Nubl and Al-Zahraa and thus the experience gained was useful in the liberation of Aleppo city.

Military experts believe the liberation of the two towns presented a new model for the world armies and brought innovative military tactics.

Furthermore, the retaking of Nubl and Al-Zahraa upset the enemies' equations in Syria as they had planned to use the siege of these two towns as a bargaining chip. However with the ejection of terrorists from these strategic towns, their regional backers and especially Turkey had no means of obtaining concessions from the Syrian government. This situation laid grounds for the historical liberation of Aleppo city.

Foreign-backed terrorists in Syria had placed all their bets on Aleppo and therefore with its liberation, they suffered major blows that have hastened their defeat and complete ejection from Syria.

Military experts believe that liberation of Nubl and Al-Zahraa was the first in a series of defeats which have significantly weakened foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists in Syria and ignited major infighting within their ranks.

Additionally, Nubl and Al-Zahraa towns were used by terrorists as a strategic route for supplies from Turkey and thus the retaking of this area meant that terrorists had lost a major supply line. Therefore after the liberation of Nubl and Al-Zahraa, Takfiri terrorists and other militants started using other routes Idlib and eastern Aleppo countryside to obtain assistance and supplies.

The strategic Nubl and Al-Zahraa towns are now major centers for the Syrian army's military operations against terrorists in Northern Syria.

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