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Infantrymen have cleaned up 8 private houses yesterday
and have approached the next militant defense line in Jobar.
We go to an improvised observation post.
Marks of the past fights are all around us.
We the ANNA-News reporters
have witnessed how soldiers have been fighting for every meter here.
Tanks are moving out to original position.
Engineers have prepared good way for them.
They're covered from all sides.
High-rise buildings taken by Syrian Arab Army
now let [them] to dominate over the encircled terrorist gang
and cut short bandits' attempts to retake control over Southern bypass.
Everyone has prepared themselves and every fighter knows his job.
Tanks went to battle.
First machine strikes and quckly changes positions
moving the target to terrorist retreat paths.
Tanks moves on while shooting the militant defense line.
Crew's teamwork is of critical importance given the build-up density of the block.
Crew's teamwork is of critical importance given the build-up density of the block.
A tank must move as a single organism
to keep maneurability in these conditions.
And Syrian tankmen demonstrate the quality of their work.
Infantrymen fire upon the potential places
of grenade launchers popping up.
The tank retreats and covers infantry units moving out
with its armour from sniper fire from Zamalka side
and masking fighters with smoke screen
having shot the discovered militant positions.
Second battle machine goes forward.
Tankmen fire upon the buildings
that can be used by militants to approach and [counter]attack the attacking infantry.
These tanks fight for more than two years with no depot overhaul.
All of the repairs are done in the field.
And sometimes breakage occurs at the least favourable moment.
The tank has lost one track link and gets stuck right at the frontline
while maneuring within confined space and over the ruins.
The operation to rescue the disabled machine
starts out in the complicated conditions of the frontline.
Armoured repairs and recovery vehicle moves out to the breakage place.
The crew has decided not to leave the tank
and continues to fight covering the infantry.
Andrey Filatov, Vasily Pavlov, Igor Nadyrshin, Victor Kuznetsov. ANNA-News. Damascus.
Operation to recover the tank which has lost a track link goes on down there.
The space around tank is raked with fire by infantry
to deny militant grenade lauchers fire upon battle vehicle.
Syrian Arab Army officers can't observe from distance
and we head down to be at the place of the rescue operation.
Our way lies through the private sector.
Tortured houses are one of the faces of war.
Militants have turned residential area into deadly maze.
[Army] had to fight for every room to clean the town of them.
Every wall here is a milestone that had to be taken.
Militant sniper's round can come from the depth of the buildings.
Sniper bullet sounds are heard here constantly but no one pays attention to the danger.
All of them remember that the main task now is to save the tank.
I run across behind a wall and have a look around.
I understand that I might be visible to a militant sniper and hide under the remains of the stairs.
BREM armoured recovery vehicle crewmen
fasten the tow to start towing the damaged tank in spite of the danger.
Militant positions are 30 meters away.
They've retreated when Syrian Arab Army units attacked.
But they might return now making use of the moment and try to counterattack.
The tank makes a preemptive shot towards the militants when the tow has been fastened and evacuation starts.
I understand that my shelter can become a crypt
if 47 tons of uncontrolled tank ram the remains of the building.
Time to run away from here.
The tow breaks apart a few meters later. The second one got broken before.
BREM went for a new tow.
Infantrymen continue to cleanup the inner part of the buildings.
If the tank can support them with fire the strike doesn't take long.
Crew waits for new attempt to pull them out from this lane.
Any suspicious movement at militants' side gets shot.
The shockwave from tank fire has folded the nearby house.
Collapse of the building gave positive results: its ruins have covered the left side of the machine now.
Captain walks around the tank to inspect the situation from all sides.
BREM came. Everything starts again.
The damaged tank finally gets evacuated away from the frontline successfully.
Hussain's crew starts covering infantrymen who started cleaning up the last house near the highway
having covered towing of the damaged tank.
Commanders suggested that there might be another militant tunnel there.
The operation goes on.
Andrey Filatov, Igor Nadyrshin, Victor Kuznetsov, Vasily Pavlov, Marat Musin. ANNA-News. Damascus.
The crew covers infantrymen who start to cleanup the last house near the highway
upon having covered damaged tank being towed away.
Commanders have suggested that there may be another militant tunnel.
Tanks hide infantrymen by smokescreen and machinegun fire.
There's report that the infantry has spotted militant movements in Zamalka.
Tank to the left has its transmission damaged
thus it can't strike upon the spotted militant bunch.
Diesel fuel condensate has formed on the camera due to intensive use of the smokescreen generator.
Simply put, a smokescreen is diesel fuel that is injected into the exhaust pipe and thus forms fog.
Wind has directed the fog onto the camera and it has fogged up first, got covered with a layer of diesel fuel later
and the picture got defocused.
The tank moves out and strikes Zamalka again when infantrymen report that they've spotted militants again.
Damaged tank serves as a stationary firing point to strike upon militants in Zamalka.
The crew of the first tank is moving forward to strike at the discovered militants.
The camera has lost ability to film clear picture unfortunately.
But the events that have unfolded with the crew must make it to annals of the war.
We have included this footage into the film therefore despite the quality.
My filming from the top of the building top stops often as it was dangerous to loom behind the windows.
My desire to get some nice footage well could cost the lives of all those on the floor
if a militant sniper would spot us.
Tank immediately came under sniper fire when having approached militant positions.
Their target is optics of tank crew commander.
Tank crew uses guns and fires upon militants appearing in the windows.
The crew has discovered a position and guided the tank to strike at the terrorists.
Tank crewmen have noticed a militant with a grenade launcher and started aiming.
Militant might have been frightened as he made a hasty shot and the grenade exploded before reaching the tank.
Returned fire left no chance to get away with impunity.
The tank takes control of this area.
It became apparent that this is an important sector of militant defense and they would try to take away bodies of those killed.
Another round when having spotted some movement.
Sudden anti-tank gun hit upon the tank from the left, from Zamalka side.
The crew was not injured thanks God.
The round has damaged oil pipe and oil started pouring out upon the turret and our camera.
Tank has lost the ability to move having been damaged.
Tank crew chose not to leave the vehicle.
They fire upon Zamalka and then turn the gun over and fire upon militant positions.
This was the last shell. The crew is left with no shells and bullets.
Tank crew reports that they see militants with RBR [M90 "Strsljen"].
The captain grabs a machine gun and shows the infantry where to fire.
Militant activity has been spotted in Zamalka, a strike is dealt there.
Artillery shells the building from which militants have fired upon tank.
When the tank has stalled due to [all the] oil having been leaked the crew has been unarmed in face of militant units
who came to destroy the tank.
They saw one of the militants unable to fire RBR
so he began to change grenade as the crew told us.
Crew members were not afraid of death but trusted in God and their comrades.