Russia prepares to attack ISIS as Vladimir Putin deploys missile launchers to Syria

"Thanos" said
And in the ultimate perversity to embarrass the Americans, if this adventure the Russians are engaging in succeeds in crushing ISIS all that will result is that a strong Shia alliance, with Iran as the dominant partner, has come into existence as a buffer/counter the Sunni states led by the Saudis.

The mobile multiple rocket launcher - TOS-1A - features thermobaric weapons which can destroy eight city blocks in one strike, causing indiscriminate damage.

The TOS-1A Solntsepyok(meaning 'blazing sun') arrived in Syria earlier this month, according to the IBTimes, citing a Russian newspaper.

The TOS-1A Heavy Flamethrower System, also nicknamed Buratino after a Russian children's book character, can destroy several city blocks in one strike,

The thermobaric warheads, also called vacuum or fuel-air explosives, spreads a flammable liquid around a target and then ignites the liquid.

The blast is lethal in itself, but the vacuum that follows the explosion is strong enough to cause deadly internal damage, including rupturing of vital organs, such as the lungs.

A study by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency from as early as 1993, writes that the effect of a thermobaric weapon on targets in confined spaces, such as buildings, bunkers and tunnels, is 'immense'.

'Those near the ignition point are obliterated. Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, and thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness.'


The TOS-1A has reportedly been used by the Russian Army since 2001 and has also been exported to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Iraq where it has already been used to fight ISIS.


This follows reports that Russia also reportedly moved the TOS-1 system into rebel-held Ukraine earlier this month.

"Thanos" said
Thermobarics are nothing new. The Americans were using them against Al Qaeda and Taliban that were holed up in caves. Vicious weapons being used on a vicious enemy isn't just ironic, it's practically poetic.

Thousands of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria in recent days, as forces loyal to President Assad prepare a major assault on rebel-held territory in Aleppo. The Syrian government, bolstered by the new arrivals and two weeks of intense Russian airstrikes on rebel positions, is determined to win back territory around the country�s biggest city, and once its commercial hub.

Islamic State militants battled rival insurgent groups on Wednesday north of the city of Aleppo, where officials say the Syrian army is preparing an offensive of its own backed by Iranian soldiers and Russian jets.

A rebel fighter and a group monitoring the war said Islamic State fighters took control of parts of the towns of Ahras and Tel Jabin, about 12 km (8 miles) north of Aleppo, before being pushed back.

Gains by Islamic State north of Aleppo would threaten the supply lines of rival rebels inside the city, which is divided between insurgents and government forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the road used by Aleppo residents heading north to the Turkish border remained closed on Wednesday.