October 27 Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & EXERCISES:

Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (October 21 to 27)

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

COUGAR 2012 (October to November) @ Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas

• (Oct 12) UK Task Force visits Gibraltar (Panorama )
• (Oct 19) UK & French Task Forces join up in Mediterranean, CORSICAN LION begins (Royal Navy )(French Defense Ministry )(French Army )
• (Oct 24) HMS Montrose launches UK / French raiders during CORSICAN LION (Royal Navy )
• (Oct 26) UK and French Defense Ministers visit the combined task force during amphibious operations (MOD ); Active exercises end (Royal Navy )

INDIAEX 2012 (October 19 to November 13) @ Mumbai, India

CARAT 2012 (October to December) in WESTPAC

• (Oct 22) CARAT Cambodia begins

IONIEX-2012 (November 7 to 9) Joint Russian-Italian Naval EX in Mediterranean

SHIP LOGS:

HMS Edinburgh (FFG)

• (Oct 25) visits Cape Verde, en route to S. Atlantic patrol zone (Royal Navy )

RFS PM-56 (Floating Workshop)

• (Oct 22) Deploys to Tartus, Syria for 6-months, replacing PM-138 as onduty repair ship for the Russian navy base (Rusnavy )

RFS Smetlivy (DDG)

• (Oct 18) leaves Sevastopol for Italy for IONIEX

USS Bonhomme Richard ARG

• (Oct 23) @ Sepanger, Malaysia

USS Enterprise CSG

• (Oct 25) CSG in Atlantic, prep for ammo off-load

USS Makin Island (LHD-8)

• (Oct 23) “Leaders at Sea” program in Pacific (US Navy )

USS Ohio (SSGN-726)

• (Oct 24) visits Busan, SK (Naval Today )

USS Peleliu ARG

• (Oct 23) @ Phuket, Thailand

USS Stennis CSG

• (Oct 25) in Arabian Sea, conducting OEF air ops

USS Truman (CVN-75)

• (Oct 24) completes TSTA and FEP (US Navy )
• (Oct 25) completes 24-days underway, tested flight operations with CVW-3

USS Washington CSG

• (Oct 22) FFG Vandergrift @ Sihanoukville, Cambodia for CARAT 2012
• (Oct 23) in S. China Sea
• (Oct 24) @ Manila, Philippines (US Navy )

USS Wasp (LHD-1)

• (Oct 23) in Atlantic, Burial at Sea
• (Oct 25) in Atlantic, Total-Ship Survivability Drill

GROUND UNITS LOGS & EXERCISES:

US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (October 21 to 27) (DOD News Releases )

France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

AUSTERE CHALLENGE EXERCISE (October 21 – November 11) in Israel

• (Oct 21) EX Begins (RIA Novosti )

UNIT LOGS:

None Noted

NEWS that makes me go Hmmmm......

IRAN

• (Oct 24) Sudanese factory that produced Iranian Shehab missiles destroyed by air attack (Debka )

SYRIA

• (Oct 24) Russian General reports Syrian rebels have been supplied various MANPADS systems, including US Stingers (RIA Novosti )
• (Oct 25) Shaky 4-day cease fire begins (CNN ) (Yahoo ) (Yahoo - Fighting continues in Aleppo )

USA

• (Oct 26) US Marine F/A-18 fighter-bombers from VMFA-314 at Miramar, CA were spotted flying out to an undisclosed country in the Mediterranean or Middle-East (UT San Diego )
• MY THOUGHTS... Hmmmmm, they could be reinforcing current deployments... they might be positioning the fighters to cover an unannounced operation... They could be replacing or rotating with current units on deployment, the media is notorious for mistaking rotations for something more exciting.... I see in the news article pic (if it's accurate) that they're the old hornet variant, not the new Super-Hornet. In my mind the importance of this movement just lost a lot of points. IF this was for Iran, they’d be Supers. If it was for Afghanistan or Somalia, then the oldies are fine. The oldies are excellent aircraft, but you will NOT assign a super-important mission like Iran to 10-15 year old aircraft, you assign it to Supers, and F-22's, and B-2's, not to mention Growlers and other advanced ECM aircraft. They might be good as wild weasels, but I'm not aware of old F/A-18's taking on that role. So, my take is that they're for a low-grade / low-tech threat, ground attack role, possibly rotating in for a spell, possibly for Afghanistan at Kandahar, or Djibouti, or simply rotating assets in alliance countries ...or possibly to free up more advanced assets so they can focus on something more important.
• (Oct 26) Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti is quietly becoming the busiest attack drone hub outside Afghanistan (Stars & Stripes ), and an enormously important SOF hub in Africa (Wired )

MAPPING UPDATES

• Indian Ocean / West Pacific
• Mediterranean

October 20 Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & EXERCISES:

Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (October 7 to 13)

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

RUSSIAN PACIFIC FLEET TACTICAL HARBOR EXERCISE (October 14 to 20) @ Avachinskaya Bay, Kamchatka, Russia

PHIBLEX (October 8 – 18) @ Philippines

RUSSIAN PACIFIC FLEET MARINE SCOUT FIELD EXERCISES (October 8 to 20?) @ Primorsky Krai, Klerk Peninsula, Russia

COUGAR 2012 (October to November) @ Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas

• (Oct 12) UK Task Force visits Gibraltar (Panorama )
• (Oct 19) UK & French Task Forces join up in Mediterranean, CORSICAN LION begins (Royal Navy )(French Defense Ministry )(French Army )

INDIAEX 2012 (October 19 to November 13) @ Mumbai, India

SHIP LOGS:

FS Siroco (LSD)

• (Oct 11) visited Conakry, Guinea for 2-days (French Defense Ministry )

HMS Dauntless (DDG)

• (Oct 19) visiting Boston, US, berthed next to USS Constitution (Royal Navy )

HMS Defender (DDG)

• (Oct 17) began helicopter trials and training off south UK coast

HMS Diamond (DDG)

• (Oct 15) at Bahrain, Royal Navy's Fleet Commander visits ship

HMS Monmouth (FFG)

• (Oct 18) Deploys to Arabian Gulf patrol (MOD )

PLAN Liaoning (CV)

• (Oct 15) Flight Trials begin, Chinese naval fighters begin touch-and-go tests at sea (Boston)

USS America (LHA-6)

• (Oct 20) the US Navy's newest assault ship will be christened at Pascagula, MS

USS Bonhomme Richard ARG

• (Oct 18) returns to Subic Bay, Philippines

USS Carr (FFG-52)

• (Oct 11) recovered $26 million worth of cocaine during it's Operation Martillo patrol in Caribbean

USS Enterprise CSG

• (Oct 11) in Red Sea
• (Oct 12) transits Suez Canal, returning home
• (Oct 13) in Mediterranean
• (Oct 17) USS Vicksburg (CG) and Porter (DDG) @ Lisbon, Portugal (US Navy )
• (Oct 18) @ Naples, Italy

USS Stennis CSG

• (Oct 17) CSG enters 5^th Fleet AOR

USS Washington CSG

• (Oct 15) in S. China Sea
• (Oct 17) 3M assessment scheduled for (Oct 21-24)

GROUND UNITS LOGS & EXERCISES:

US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (October 14 to 20) (DOD News Releases )

France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

CHISTOY NEBO 2012 (October 5 - 16) CIS ADA Exercise in Central Asia

US – ISRAEL JOINT MISSILE DEFENSE EXERCISE (October 21 – November 11)

UNIT LOGS:

RUSSIA

• MOLDOVA: NATO forces may replace Russian peacekeepers in Moldova (ITAR-TASS )

USA

• 2^nd Infantry Division, 2^nd Stryker Brigade – KIA @ Kandahar, Afghanistan (Oct 13)
• 2^nd Infantry Division, 3^rd Stryker Brigade – KIA @ Spin Boldak, Afghanistan (Oct 13)

NEWS that makes me go Hmmmm......

MALI

• (Oct 13) Mali rebels tell France they'll “open gates of hell” ...or more specifically, kill french hostages, if France continues to push for international action against them (Yahoo News )
• (Oct 17) Will the world go to war to save Mali? Pros and Cons (Time )
• MY OPINION: If you're OK with another pro-western country split by civil war, with neither side strong enough to outright win, and eventually becoming a self destructive puritanical islamist stronghold, then please do nothing. Otherwise, hold the line wherever the fight goes. Fight or flee. Help them protect themselves or let them perish. That is the choice. You're already in a world war of insurgent proportions. Are you willing to live under the same terms forced on other peoples by the islamists? No? Then fight them...

RUSSIA

• (Oct 18) NATO includes Russia, China, Iran on list of main cyber-enemies (Rusnavy )

SYRIA

• (Oct 17) Hezbollah moves rocket units into Syria from their bases in Lebanon, directing them against rebel units at Homs; Meanwhile, Russia moves S-400 AA missile batteries close to the Turkish border (Debka )
• MY OPINION: ...Close to Turkey? Didn't they notice Georgia is between them, and provides 100-miles of separation. I'm sure the S-400 has enough range to effect something in Turkey, but honestly, that would overfly Georgia, and in light of Russia's and Belorus's efforts to reconcile with Georgia and bring them back into the CIS, and tear them away from NATO, shooting missiles over Georgian airspace would probably be less than optimal. Instead, I think it's more realistic to assume the move is related to the need to pre-stage defensive units in advance of the Sochi Olympics. Sure, it's REALLY in advance. But the Russians never do anything quick, and they might need time to settle in and find the best vodka bars in the area ...ok, that was mean. But the UK was actively preping for the London Olympics 6-months in advance with exercises and positioning air defense units, and planning for 2-years. While the UK has transitioned into helping Brazil with their Olympic plans, it's realistic enough to assume Russia is laying the groundwork for their Sochi games right now.
• (Oct 18) IISS foresees the potential for 150,000 pro-Assad refugees settling in Russia's N. Caucasus if the regime collapses (World Tribune )
• (Oct 20) Lebanon on edge after car bomb kills Lebanese intelligence chief Brigadier-General Wissam al-Hassan, who will be buried with full honors. Several protests were broke up by the army and police in beirut and Tripoli (Yahoo News ); Lebanese Cabinet holding emergency talks after car bombing, Syria accused of assassinating pro-FSA Intel Chief (BBC )

Iran window closes?

....and just as fast as the Iran action watch window opened ...now it's closed. Apparently Enterprise left CENTCOM just as Stennis and Washington entered it. I was curious about Enterprise because they hadn't said much of nothing for about two weeks. Now we know why ...the transited the Suez on the twelfth. Likewise, the Washington did a U-Turn in the Andaman Sea and returned to the S. China Sea for bilateral exercises with Malaysia.

This leaves Ike on task and Stennis on the way. Neither Enterprise or Washington is able to respond within 7-days unless something dramatic happens right now. That means only the USAF has the necessary assets  to respond by the end on the 20-day decision window ...which means nothing will happen.

...unless Obama wants it to be an AF only show. The Navy does have the needed assets to clear Hormuz of Iranian mines, but it would fall to the USAF to make most of the offensive strikes on Iranian assets. That's a weak hand, but it's one that is realistically able to be projected to happen

October 13th Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & EXERCISES:

Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (October 7 to 13)

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

JOINT WARRIOR (October 1-12) @ Scotland, UK

• (Oct 1) Exercise Begins (US Navy )
• (Oct 2) VBSS Team Training
• (Oct 8) USS Gettysburg participates in NEO exercise (US Navy )
• (Oct 11) Exercise ends (US Navy )

RUSSIAN PACIFIC FLEET TACTICAL HARBOR EXERCISE (October 7 to 13?) @ Avachinskaya Bay, Kamchatka, Russia

GROWLER 12 (October 7 – 13?) @ RAAFB Amberley, Australia

PHIBLEX (October 8 – 18) @ Philippines

• (Oct 8) begin PHIBLEX at Subic Bay, Philippines (US Navy )

RUSSIAN PACIFIC FLEET MARINE SCOUT FIELD EXERCISES (October 8 to 20?) @ Primorsky Krai, Klerk Peninsula, Russia

COUGAR 2012 (October to November, 2012) @ Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas

• (Oct 11) UK Task Force heading to Mediterranean (Royal Navy )
• (Oct 12) UK Task Force visits Gibraltar (Panorama )

SHIP LOGS:

FS Charles de Gaulle (CVN)

• (Oct 11) visiting Naples, Italy, Exercise LEVANT ends

FS Siroco (LSD)

• (Oct 8) relieves FS Ventose (FFG), begins CORYMBE Gulf of Guinea patrol (Defence Ministry )

HMS Diamond (DDG)

• (Oct 11) joint board & search EX with UAE frigate Murayjib in Arabian Gulf

HMS Edinbourgh (DDG)

• (Oct 11) completed visit to Lisbon, Portugual, en-route to S. Atlantic

HMS Kent (FFG)

• (Oct 12) Kent and Severn visit Belfast, Ireland

RFS Admiral Gorshkov (DDG)

• (Oct 8) Launched, first Udaloy Class (Project 22350) Destroyer in the Russian navy to be made of carbon composition
• (Oct 10) Izvestia changes it's mind... Dockside trials begin in November, ship isn't carbon composition, but does have special radar absorbing coat to superstructure

RFS Novocherkassk (LST)

• (Oct 5) visiting Corfu Island, Greece for two days

USS Bonhomme Richard ARG

• (Oct 8) begin PHIBLEX at Subic Bay, Philippines (US Navy )

USS Ft. McHenry (LSD-43)

• (Oct 11) patrolling in Mediterranean ...might be slated to participate in COUGAR 12

USS Mt. Whitney (LCC-20)

• (Oct 9) @ Gaeta, Italy, Basic damage control drill while at homeport

USS Nimitz (CVN-68)

• (Oct 4) at San Diego, change of command ceremony for Naval Air Forces commander
• (Oct 6) received and refueled an MV-22 Osprey while at sea, testing aircraft as potential replacement for the C-2 Greyhound

USS Olympia (SSN-717)

• (Oct 4) at Subic Bay, Philippines

USS Peleliu ARG

• (Oct 10) visiting Timor-Leste for EXERCISE CROCODILLO 2012

USS Reuben James (FFG-57)

• (Oct 3) departs Pearl Harbor for final deployment ...added to Ship Logs

USS Stennis CSG

• (Oct 6) rescues drowning man in Straits of Malacca
• (Oct 12) in Andaman Sea with Washington CSG

USS Toledo (SSN-769)

• (Oct 12) returns from EUCOM deployment

USS Underwood (FFG-36)

• (Oct 8) @ Colon, Panama on-loading supplies

USS Washington CSG

• (Oct 7) @ Port Klang, Malaysia
• (Oct 9) USS Cowpens (CG-63) visits Jakarta, Indonesia
• (Oct 12) in Andaman Sea with Stennis CSG;
• Lt. Gen Dato' Zulkiple bin Hj Kassi, Field Commander of the Malaysian Army visits ship

GROUND UNITS LOGS & EXERCISES:

US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (October 7 to 13) (DOD News Releases )

France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

CHISTOY NEBO 2012 (October 5 - 16) CIS ADA Exercise in Central Asia

UNIT LOGS:

FRANCE

• 21^st Marine Infantry Regiment assumes command of Task Force Epervier in Chad for four month rotation (Oct 2)

UK

• 4 Mechanized Brigade – Officially takes over Afghan mission (Oct 11), HERRICK 17 begins, delete HERRICK 16 from log ()

USA

• 3^rd Infantry Division, 2^nd Brigade – Begin returning home (Army Times )

NEWS that makes me go Hmmmm......

IRAN

• (Oct 6) Israel shoots down Iranian drone over N. Israel
• (Oct 9) Intelligence estimates that Iran has enough 20% uranium to produce a warhead in November, 2012; that Israel converted large numbers of 707's into air tankers, and is able to successfully attack Iran with only 100 fighter-bombers; and that the US and Israel has 20-days to decide to attack (Debka )

SYRIA

• (Oct 10) Turkish AF force passenger jet flying from Moscow to Syria to land in Ankara on suspicion of carrying arms, it's feared that Turkey may be unilaterally imposing aerial blockade and/or no-fly-zone over Syria (Debka ); US Defense Sec. Panetta announces that US forces are building an HQ in Jordan to aid in the monitoring of Syrian WMD's and refugees in Jordan (Yahoo News )
• (Oct 11) Turkey releases the civilian airliner after impounding part of the cargo; places it's military on full alert (Debka )
• (Oct 12) fighting intensifies: Rebels capture another air defense base E of Aleppo; Turkey scrambles two F-16s when a Syrian Attack helicopter bombed the Syrian border villlage of Azmarin, shooting it down; 400-Syrian army soldiers were captured at Jisr al-Shoughour, conscripts were released, officers weren't; fighting reported at military barracks close to Maarat al-Nuaman on the road from Homs to Aleppo, The capture of Maarat jeopardizes Syrian Army reinforcements to Aleppo, an armored column sent to break the rebel advances in Maarat was halted, and heavy artillery bombardments were reported along the entire highway from Khan Sheikhoun to Maarat (Yahoo News )

MAPPING UPDATES

INDIAN OCEAN – UPDATED TO CURRENT LOCATIONS

MEDITERRANEAN – UPDATED TO CURRENT LOCATIONS

SYRIA – TIMELINE UPDATED

Iran watch notice

During my daily news sweep for news that makes me go hmmm, I read this by Debka

http://debka.com/article/22422/US-sources-US-Israel-plan-October-Surprise-Others-Israel-can-do-it-alone

I generally take their info with grain of salt, extract useful info and move on. Something about this one deserved more checking and flash notification.

• The gist of the report is that Iran and Israel is potentially openly sparring,
• that Iran is tightly coordinating rocket strikes from Gaza and Lebanon, using one to offset other and retaliate for the other,
• that Israel now has the resources to go it alone if needed,
• That current assessments of the Iranian nuclear program suggest they have enough uranium to begin bomb construction this November,
• And that the US and Israel have 20-days to agree to strike

When I double check my info, I find...

• If they decide to attack, then all strike resources need to be available in theater
• USAF currently has F-22's in theater, and it was noticed by watchers that USMC F-18's deployed "somewhere", possibly in EUCOM or CENTCOM last week,
• The US has been boosting ground assets in the area, in various check-point areas like Djibouti, Oman, UAE,
• The US Navy has 2-CVNs in Arabian Sea, 1-LHD in Indian Ocean, 1-MCM Sea Base in Arabian Gulf, just concluded a major MCM exercise,
• The US Navy has 2-CVNs within 2-4 days strike range (USS Stennis entered the Indian Ocean Oct 6, is replacing Enterprise; USS Washington was at Port Klang, Malaysia  on Oct 7), and 2-ARG (LHA Peleliu, LHD BH Richard) within 7-days strike range;
• The Europeans have the de Gaulle within 3-days strike range (EST placement off Syria if needed), likewise with the ITS Cavour, and 5-days for the HMS Illustious

We appear to be entering a window of opportunity, both militarily and possibly politically. The political opportunity for the US depends heavily on how Obama calculates such a strike will affect his re-election prospects.

October 6th Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & EXERCISES:

Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (September 30 to October 6)

COUGAR 2012: (October to November'12) Major Naval / Amphibious Exercise with France in Mediterranean and Adriatic (MOD )

(Oct 1) HMS Illustrious sails from UK for COUGAR

(Oct 1-9) Amphibious EX at SW UK (Royal Navy )

(Oct 4) UK Marines storm beachs at Barnpool, Cornwall, UK (BBC )

(Oct 15+) CORSICAN LION: Joint EX with France in Mediterranean

(November) EX with Albanian military in Adriatic Sea

• FS Charles De Gaulle CSG (CVN)
• HMS Illustrious (CV)
• HMS Bulwark (LPD)
• HMS Northumberland (FFG)
• HMS Montrose (FFG)
• RFA Mounts Bay (LSD)
• MV Hartland Point
• 3 Commando HQ
• 45 Commando

JOINT WARRIOR: (October 1 - 12) Major Coalition exercise led by the UK near Scotland

(Sept 26) US Ships arrive @ Faslane, Scotland (US Navy )

(Sept 28) UK forces muster in Scotland for EX (Royal Navy )

(Oct 1) Exercise Begins (US Navy )

(Oct 2) VBSS Team Training

• USS Gettysburg (CG-64)
• USS Mitscher (DDG-57)
• HMS Kent (FFG)
• HMS St. Albans (FFG)
• HMS Bangor (MCM)
• HMS Cattistock (MCM)
• HMS Hurworth (MCM)
• HMS Penzance (MCM)
• USNS Leroy Grumman (TAO-195)
• 3 UK Division
• 3 Commando
• 16 Air Assault
• Participants include US, UK, France, Canada, Holland, Belgium, Estonia, Norway and Sweden

FS Charles de Gaulle (CVN)

• (Oct 3) recently conducted joint training carrier exercise with ITS Cavour, as part of European Carrier Interoperability Initiative (Defense Ministry )

FS Tonnerre (LHD)

• (Oct 9) visiting Monaco

HMS Dauntless (DDG)

• (Oct 1) resumes Op. Martillo patrol in Caribbean with Colombian frigate ARC Antioquia and USS Underwood (US Navy )

HMS Diamond (DDG)

• (Oct 3) Air defense EX vs. USAF F-15's in the Arabian Gulf during IMCMEX (Royal Navy )

HMS Illustrious (CV)

• (Oct 1) sails from Portsmouth, UK for COUGAR 2012

USS Bonhomme Richard ARG (LHD-6)

• (Oct 1) in Philippine Sea
• (Oct 5) visits Subic Bay, Philippines

USS G. Washington CSG (CVN-73)

• (Oct 1) transit San Bernardino Strait / Philippine Sea

USS Nimitz (CVN-68)

• (Sept 29) en route to San Diego to take on CVW-11 for COMPTUEX ...EST deployment schedule updated

USS Stennis CSG (CVN-74)

• (Oct 2) visiting Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

USS Underwood (FFG-36)

• (Sept 29-30) visits GTMO following conclusion of UNITAS
• (Oct 1) resumes Op. Martillo patrol in Caribbean with Colombian frigate ARC Antioquia and HMS Dauntless ()

GROUND UNITS LOGS & EXERCISES:

US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (September 30 to October 6 ) (DOD News Releases )

France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

• Chistoye Nebo 2012: (October 5-16) Air Defense Exercise in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan; involves interception of cruise missiles (RIA Novosti )

USA

• 1^st Armored Division, Combat Aviation Brigade – will deploy to Afghanistan for 9-months in (February, 2013)
• 1^st Cavalry Division, 4^th Brigade – will deploy to Afghanistan for 9-months in (November, 2012)
• 173^rd Airborne Brigade – KIA @ Sayyid Abad, Afghanistan (Sept 29)
• 3^rd Special Forces Group – KIA @ Wardak, Afghanistan (Sept 28)
• 5^th Special Forces Group – KIA @ Bagram AB, Afghanistan (Oct 2)

NEWS that makes me go Hmmmm......

IRAN

• (Oct 5) This week Irans currency, the Rial, plunged in value while the US Congress considers new sanctions (Yahoo News )

RUSSIA

• (Oct 4) President Lukashenko of Belarus is taking on the task of re-integrating Georgia back into the Russia-led CIS by next meeting in 2013 (ITAR-TASS )
• (Oct 5) Russia signs a 30-year agreement with Tajikistan, allowing the russian's to keep their base there, but possibly at the risk of clashing with the Taliban after 2014 (RIA Novosti )

SOMALIA

• (Oct 1) Sources report that the Kenyan Army's success at finally driving Al Shabaab out of Kismayu includes support by the US (drones and Intel), France (Supplies, weapons, and amphibious assault support), and Israel (counter-terror advisers) (Debka )
• MAP UPDATED

SYRIA

• (Oct 3) Turkey strikes targets in Syria after a mortar attack kills 5 in Turkish town Akcakale on border
• (Oct 4) Turkey establishes 10km buffer zone in N. Syria using saturation artillery strikes on Syrian army units and facilities, however NATO veto's no-fly zone. Next is planned to have the two Turkish commanded FSA units, North Liberators and Tawhid Brigade cut a 50km safe route to Aleppo from Killis, Turkey (Debka )
• (Oct 5) Syrian mortars strike targets in Turkey's border town Akcakale and Hatay Province, Turkish artillery strikes back (Yahoo News )
• MAP UPDATED