Thomas Wictor

Today the Syrian Democratic Forces (QSD) began a lightning offensive on the city Manbij. By all accounts, this assault has been very successful. That’s because the preparations began last year. You should never believe words. Only weaponry will tell you the real story.

This weaponry was photographed on the way to Manbij.

The red arrow shows an unidentified automatic cannon, almost certainly a weapon of 40mm caliber. There’s an enormous ammunition drum on the top of the cannon. This weapon by itself could lay waste to an entire city.

That photo was taken in January of 2016, almost five months ago. The weaponry belongs to Jaysh al-Thuwar, a secular Arab component of the QSD. Jaysh al-Thuwar has no national sponsors. This “militia” also uses new weapons, such as the Israeli-Arab EMPFAE ordnance.

Members of Jaysh al-Thuwar show astonishing military skill. Therefore the group must be comprised mostly of Arab League strategic special operators. I came to that conclusion based entirely on weaponry.

And now, I conclude that the many years of painstaking military and diplomatic preparations are paying off in Syria.

Weaponry helps

I can tell you what Turkey is actually doing in Syria, regardless of what anybody says. It doesn’t matter if Turkish leaders announce one thing and then another, or Kurdish leaders make accusations, or people on social media post photos with no provenance.

This is the reality of what’s happening.

QUESTION: What’s the role of the Turkish Government in this fight? Because today Turkish prime minister said that 200 ISIS militants will be – are killed as a result of the Turkish artillery shots against ISIL targets. Are they supporting this offense against ISIL target in Manbij pocket?

US ARMY COLONEL STEVE WARREN: Well, we’ve seen the Turkish fire some artillery to very good effect in the Manbij pocket. We’re continuing to work with the Turks to tighten up our coordination with them on these artillery strikes that they do in that area, but yes, they are targeted.

QUESTION: So they are not under the umbrella of coalition, these artillery shots?

COL WARREN: They are, but we still need to work on our coordination.

QUESTION: What kind of coordination? Can you more – I mean, give some specifics? The targets, or the groups that they are supporting – what kind of coordination are we talking about? If they are —

COL WARREN: Well, we want to ensure that we know exactly where they’re going to strike before they strike. And this is always the case in any – in any type of a large outfit with as many moving parts as we have in this coalition, that’s going to happen. So we’ve identified is the Turks filling a need, right? There were some weather problems; we were having difficulty providing the type of air power we wanted to provide, and the Turks filled in with artillery fire. So it was perfect. It happened the way it was supposed to happen.

The Turks are using precision artillery fire to strike individual fighting positions and buildings in support of the QSD. This means that somebody has given Turkey new weapons. The T-155 Fırtına self-propelled howitzer isn’t capable of the spectacular shots that the Turks are making.

The only answer is that Israel provided Turkey with new long-range, precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds. The Israeli plan for years has been to make one artillery round do the work of thirty. Unguided artillery is called an “area weapon.” You saturate the entire area with lethal steel fragments in the hopes of hitting the target. It can lead to massive collateral damage.

Turkey is using a more advanced version of this American round.

The Turks could’ve invaded northern Syria at any time. They haven’t. The reason is that Turkey has accepted the inevitability of an independent Kurdistan.

In time.

Weaponry with no paper trail

Yesterday I learned that Saudi Special Forces have rifles with a safety release on the barrel.

I have absolutely no idea how it works. This device is put on rifles used by men assigned close-protection duties. Since the soldier carries his rifle slung over his shoulder, he seems unable to react quickly. However, the operator can release the safety and APPARENTLY chamber a round, simply by manipulating the barrel.

In the video below, the young Saudi special operator on the left makes distinct movements with his right hand at 0:13. He seems to be flipping switches or levers. These movements are accompanied by two metallic clicks, and then at 0:17, you hear the unmistakable sound of a live round entering the chamber of the rifle.

The Saudi took this action because he found the Anha camera crew suspicious. He’s a bodyguard of the tall Arab man in the center.

Saudi Special Forces train how to fire their rifles faster than you can imagine. I won’t describe their technique, but watch the video below and see if you can figure out the problem with this approach.

In order to use that quick-draw method, you have to be carrying a loaded rifle with a round already in the chamber and the safety off. That’s unbelievably dangerous, especially if you’re doing close protection. It would be easy to accidentally shoot the person you’re protecting.

So the Saudis have rifles with a device on the barrel that allows them to release the safety and chamber a round without removing the weapon from their shoulder. Believe me, from this position, the soldier could shoot you in far less time than 1.2 seconds.

Simplicity and physics are the keys.

Weaponry for urban combat

The Syrian QSD is provided air support by Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, which includes all the Arab nations that are armed with the new EMPFAE weaponry. Below is a video that shows much more than a fighting vehicle being destroyed.

This is the best example yet of how the shock wave from this new weaponry can be directed. Below is the frame before the munition appears.

The munition.

There are two detonations caused by fuel-air explosives (FAE).

Looks pretty bad, doesn’t it?

Well, most of this is dust, not smoke.

When the dust clears, we see that the fighting vehicle has been destroyed, but so was something else.

Although the building was flattened, the roof is totally intact, and the other structures are unharmed.

Shock waves from the explosions were directed with such surgical percision that only the fighting vehicle, the building, and some trees were smashed.

In terms of weaponry, Israel and the Arab League are fifty years ahead of the rest of the world.

And I think that’s fine.