Syria Update: Splitting Jobar and Zamalka of Damascus (Part 3)

Syria Update: Splitting Jobar and Zamalka of Damascus (Part 3)

Combat operations to break Islamist terrorists’ defense lines in Jobar and Zamalka neighborhoods of the city of Damascus have continued.  

During the fighting, a couple of strategically important high-rise buildings in the area were to be taken back, but the residential district immediately adjacent to them had to be cleaned up first.

That day’s morning began with SAA infantry units moving through the private residential area on to their initial positions nearby the above-mentioned high-rise buildings. The militants fought ferociously. The average combat range was 10 - 15 meters (30 - 50 feet). It was literally a room-by-room intensive urban fighting.

Several militants with machineguns and a sniper rifle held one of the houses situated between the high-rise buildings, just 70 meters away from our position. They kept firing, thus endangering the infantry troops movements.

One of the tanks moved out into position to draw fire away from the moving troops and suppress enemy firing points. As soon as the tank had moved out into the open, a fire exchange took place. One of the militants inside the building was the first to open machinegun fire at the tank. As it became evident later, he did that to draw the tank’s fire away from another militant, armed with RPG grenade-launcher, in the building. The tank’s gunner, unaware of the RPG at the moment, returned fire, aiming at the enemy machinegun position.

The militants used the multiple wall partitions inside the building to their advantage. It is difficult for the tank gunner to spot their positions.

Then, one of the militants fired RPG missile at the tank. Shortly after that, it became clear that that the tank’s driver was either heavily wounded or got killed. After having realized that the tank was hit, the gunner fired one more round and then he and the tank’s commander got out of the tank.

Salvage operation began soon afterward. The militants resumed frantic firing at the tank with machineguns and sniper rifles.    

Pretty much due to his excitement, one of the terrorist snipers unintentionally revealed his position. Sitting deep inside the building, he was firing at the tank’s optical devices. Another militant was eager to set the tank ablaze and fired RPG rocket at it but missed the target.

Second tank arrived at the scene to provide fire cover to the recovery vehicle and the damaged tank. Braving the militants’ sniper fire, the recovery vehicle driver hooked up the damaged tank and pulled it away from under the enemy fire.

The enemy snipers could have easily got us. However, despite that, Syrian army officers rushed out to help attach another towing cable to the damaged tank. Everybody wanted to help the damaged tank’s driver, who was remaining inside the tank, as soon as possible.

Upon observation, it appeared that the RPG missile, most probably, was fired at the tank from the building’s basement. We did hope that the driver inside was still alive. But we were wrong.

Later that day, several residential houses were taken away from the terrorists.

Contributors: Marat Musin, Igor Nadyrshin, Victor Kuznetsov, Andrey Filatov.

ANNA-NEWS