Syrian Troops Capture Historic Mosque in Central City of Homs Amid Fierce Government Offensive

[Comrade Grumpy]

Source: Washington Post

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian government forces captured a historic mosque in the central city of Homs on Saturday, expelling rebel forces who had been in control of the 13th century landmark for more than a year and dealing a symbolic blow to opposition forces. State-run news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying that troops took control of the Khalid Ibn al-Walid Mosque in the heavily disputed northern neighborhood of Khaldiyeh.

Syrian TV aired a report Saturday night with footage from inside the mosque, showing heavy damage and the tomb’s dome knocked out. The footage showed debris strewn on the floor and a portion of the mosque appeared to have been burned. The mosque, famous for its nine domes and two minarets, has been a symbol for rebels in the city that is known as “the capital of the revolution.” On Monday, government troops shelled the mosque, damaging the tomb of Ibn al-Walid, a revered figure in Islam.

After capturing the strategic town of Qusair near the Lebanon border last month, government troops launched an offensive on rebel-held areas in Homs, Syria’s third largest city, late in June. They have been pushing into Khaldiyeh and other neighborhoods in the Old City that have been under opposition control since 2011.

<snip>

On top of its symbolic value, Homs is also a geographic lynchpin in Syria. The main highway from Damascus to the north as well as the coastal region, which is a stronghold of President Bashar Assad’s Alawite sect, runs through Homs. Both rebels and the regime place a high strategic value on the city. And although Assad’s forces have been on the offensive in recent months, activists say the regime wants to capture the entirety of Homs to include it in a potential future Alawite state — stretching from Homs to the coast — where Assad could make his last stand if the civil war swings against him.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syria-claims-agreement-reached-with-un-team-on-moving-forward-a-chemical-weapons-probe/2013/07/27/7c0e9cfc-f69c-11e2-81fa-8e83b3864c36_story.html

---

The capture of Homs will be a back-breaker for the rebels.

[oberliner]

1. Surprised the Assad regime is looking like it will be able to hold on

Especially considering the others who have fallen in the region.

[Purveyor]

2. Let us hope this is a 'back-breaker'. Sadly I must side with Assad in this clusterfunk. Deal with

the devil you know versus some 'unknown' and we haven't a fucking clue who would fill the vacuum he fall.

Sometimes I think it the MIC plan.

[David__77]

3. Sadly, it will not be a back breaker.

I wish it were so, but the continued intervention by Gulf states and Turkey will not allow for that yet. What it will do is strengthen the state in the areas in controls, allowing it to mop up the area from Damascus to Idlib city. What will be left, critically, is mainly Qaeda/Nusra force spanning from Aleppo to Raqqa to the Iraqi border area.

[David__77]

4. Video from the mosque after army claimed it, and just before, with al Qaeda in control.

Before:

After: