Analysis : Syrian Army annihilates jihadist horde in Hama as optimistic terrorist offensive becomes massacre

As expected, the jihadist offensive to retake Kafr Naboudah ( North Hama ) has ultimately failed. On Sunday, the Syrian Army recaptured all the points they lost after having withdrawn to more defendable positions southwest of the city 96 hours earlier.
Of course, the jihadists never really controlled the city even when they officially retook it and any rational mind knew in advance it was only a matter of days before the Syrian Army reversed events back in its favor.
The militants’ 96-hour revisit to the city was greeted by a maze of mines as well as ceaseless airstrikes and shelling and after three days, the main component of the militant force which “recaptured” Kafr Naboudah withdrew (after already being killed in their many dozens), leaving only a small rear-guard component that got annihilated when the Syrian Army assaulted the city.
An example of complete lack of strategy by the rebels is that they (despite false reports from opposition sources which have had an exceptionally terrible relationship with the truth lately) failed to take the area of Tel Hawash north of Kafr Naboudah, allowing the Syrian Army to maintain direct fire control over most of the city.
A lack of any kind of a long-term strategy to properly hold the city, combined with a complete disregard for the lives their best fighters who were hurled at the lines of an army that understands the merits of mobile defensive warfare demonstrates absolute incompetence and lack of self-preservation on the part of rebel forces.
Whilst there is no universal consensus on just how many terrorists died in the pointless offensive to retake Kafr Naboudah, a safe estimate puts the jihadist death toll at well over one hundred militants – and then so likely up to 120 – killed over a twenty-four hour period.
The reality is that the jihadists could – maybe just yet – take Kafr Naboudah a second time, only to lose it to the Syrian Army once again. Given that the Syrian military has a far greater number of combat troops, more firepower, better commanders and, most importantly, all the time in the world, the long-term result will be the same: the city will pass to the control of the Syrian government forces.
In the final assessment (part of which takes into consideration the lack of a response by pro-rebel media outlets to even acknowledge that the Syrian Army once again controls the Kafr Naboudah), it appears that PR-obsessed militant commanders made a decision to trade lives for temporary media hype and in doing so sent the best of their remaining forces on a 4-day tour into the abyss of a Syrian Army meat-grinder trap.
Read More : VIDEO: Syrian Army captures HTS militants alive in Kafr Nabudah, Hama province
With the city recaptured by the Syrian military, these rebel commanders are now likely dealing with the hangover of their pointless offensive bender – the effects of which include a lack of qualified shock troops for future offensive actions, a shortage of critical fire support munitions (all spent in the fizzled-out assault) and a large gap in their lines south of Ghab Plain.
Muraselon News – Andrew Illingworth