Syrian rebels are extracting a heavy toll on the regime's armor by using TOW missiles. NOW Lebanon.

A burning Syrian Tank. NOW Lebanon/Business Insider/Youtube.

Syrian rebel groups have effectively used anti-tank missiles, including US made TOW missiles, to blunt the new Syrian Army offensive. NOW Lebanon. In what is being dubbed a "tank massacre" by activist media, the rebels claim to have destroyed 15 tanks, APC's and armored cars since the new offensive has begun. The use of these weapons has taken a heavy toll on the Syrian military, who has moved into the North Hama region to take back territory. In videos posted on Youtube, Syrian rebels are shown to have destroyed or damaged several tanks and APC's. 

One of the tanks being destroyed.

My Comment:

The link above has about a dozen videos of the FSA rebels blowing up tanks, APC's and trucks. It's fairly impressive so I recommend checking it out. It's also obviously propaganda, so keep that in mind as you watch. Also keep in mind that every single one of these groups are working, directly or indirectly, with the al-Nusra front, which is al-Qaead's force in Syria. As far as I am concerned they are just as bad as al-Nusra is just for working with them. We should not be supplying them with these weapons. 

I do have to say that even if these videos are the only successful attacks that these rebel groups pulled off with these TOW and 9k111 missiles, they have taken a heavy toll on Syria's armor. Still, it's clear that not all of these vehicles were completely destroyed. In several of the videos, after the tanks are hit, you can see crew members running from the tanks. With several of the crewmen surviving and the tanks not being completely destroyed in every case, it's possible that the regime will be able to recover form these losses. Still, the presence of these weapons on the battlefield has to be demoralizing to the Syrian Army, which somewhat negates the morale boost they got from having Russia join the war.

I also have to wonder how many of these missiles the rebel groups have. After all, they went through quite a few of them during this attack. That kind of fire rate isn't sustainable, even if the rebels are getting fresh supplies. It's clear that some of these weapons are coming from the United States and our allies. The TOW missiles could not have come from anywhere else, thought the 9k111 "fagot" (yes that is really it's  name, and no I didn't choose it. It is hilarious though) is a Russian system. I've heard rumors that the United States will resupply the rebels, though that is politically dangerous due to the fact that these rebel groups are working close with al-Nusra and that these weapons may eventually be used against Russian troops. I have also heard that Russia blew up all the supplies for the rebels supplied by the United States. 

My guess is that these missiles will not have a huge effect on the battle long term. The rebels most likely have used up their supplies of TOW missiles. The damage they did the regime, while notable, is not a game changer. Russian airstrikes and ground support are a game changer. At this point I see an advance by the Regime as being inevitable. They won't win the war, not by a long shot, but they will start to take back territory.