Explosions rang out outside the city of Taylor Rifat, and the entire night sky was lit up.

The last two helicopters of the Turkish support for the Free Army fell, and after losing low-altitude fire support, the Tiger Corps also cooperated with the 104th Airborne Brigade to stabilize their positions.

Of course, the situation remains critical.

After all, at this time, they were surrounded by nearly 2,000 enemies in an open space without any cover, and the other party didn't even need to launch any aggressive attacks, just need to advance the camp step by step, and they could swallow them all.

In this situation, the best option for the Tiger Corps is to break through to the city and retreat to the city where there are many bunkers and can be supported.

But if they did that, their plan to disrupt the support forces would be completely frustrated, and the STS's retreat route would not be cut off.

Suhail was reluctant to make such a decision, as his strategic goals were far from being achieved in this layout against 24 STS.

The STS was not completely annihilated, and the damage to the rescue forces was extremely limited.

If you give up at this time, maybe Tyler Rifat will not lose, but let STS go, and all the previous sacrifices will become a joke.

What's more, according to the information he received from the Dongfeng Corps, the Vympel special forces from Russia have already begun an offensive against the STS.

Just give them a little time, and they have every chance of taking out 24 STS before the reinforcements arrive.

There is only one thing to do for himself, and that is to continue to hold back the infantry on the periphery and not give them a chance to advance into the city.

Thinking of this, Suhail decisively gave up his plan to retreat.

The commander of the 104th Brigade threw him an incredulous look, but after receiving a resolute second confirmation from him, the loyal soldier finally made his choice.

"The 104th Airborne Brigade will fight alongside you."

The commander took a deep breath and continued:

"We may all die here, but I hope. Such a death makes sense. ”

"Exchange the lives of a few hundred for the lives of more than 20 people. You'd better be sure that the lives of these enemies are worth enough money. ”

Hearing his words, Su Haier nodded solemnly, and then replied:

"I'm sure."

"They represent not just the success or failure of a special operations operation, they represent the failure of NATO's strategy of direct involvement in this insurgency."

"Believe me, as long as they are killed, NATO will inevitably face heavy pressure if it wants to send ground troops into Syria again."

"The Pentagon will hesitate, and so will their Congress."

"This is the biggest win we have ever had a chance to win, and for this win, we have to put all the chips on the table!"

"It's not just your people, including you, including me, can die here."

"However, the STS cannot leave, nor can the forces that are trying to rescue them."

"We're going to kill them first, and then we're going to block up the armored forces of the Free Army and swallow them all in the city!"

"That's mine – our plan, from the very beginning, I was prepared."

"Understood."

The commander subconsciously clenched the rifle in his hand, and after a short silence, he spoke:

"Do what you're supposed to do."

"We. . will open the way for you! ”

At the same time, inside the city of Taylor Rifat, on the periphery of the besieged area.

The Vympel squad had reached the area of engagement, and they were even able to visualize the enemy's position, but at this moment, they did not base themselves on the offensive, but quickly took cover after identifying themselves as friendly forces and completing contact with Syrian government forces, and began their pre-battle preparations.

Compared to the 24 STS's complex and sophisticated systematic combat strategy, they have fewer resources at their disposal, but this does not mean that they are a stereotypical "squad of shooters" composed of "reckless men".

They have no PDA and no early warning aircraft, but the team leader arranges for snipers to occupy the commanding heights, use individual observation equipment to monitor most of the battlefield, and report the enemy's specific location in real time through frequency-hopping wireless communication.

They had no air support, but the squad carried 4 2B25 silent mortars, along with 6 ultra-small "drill" rocket launchers.

They had no armor cover, but the six assaulters were not only wearing level 4 body armor sufficient to withstand large-caliber armor-piercing shells, but also had special-shaped bulletproof shields made of light alloy on their hands.

On the other hand, the individual firepower of this 36-man squad is also amazing.

In addition to the AK-74M, there are 12 RPK-16 squad light machine guns that are used as assault rifles, as well as 4 RG-6 individual revolver grenades and an AGS-30 automatic grenade launcher.

If it were on other battlefields, relying on these firepower, this signal flag would have no problem sweeping even an ordinary light infantry armament of hundreds of men.

But this time, their opponent is STS.

Therefore, even in his own "strongest form", the commander of the signal banner behaves quite cautiously.

After reconfirming the enemy's distribution, he quickly developed a battle plan, followed by a briefing to the squad members.

"The STS is approaching the edge of the besieged zone, and the government army's defensive line is about to be penetrated."

"At the same time, the Free Army armored forces are less than 300 meters away from the besieged area, and it is expected that within two minutes after the penetration of the defense zone, the STS will be able to complete the convergence with the armored forces."

"As soon as they got into the car, we lost all opportunities to intercept and annihilate."

"So, our goal is simple."

"Cut into the battlefield as quickly as possible, use the advantage of firepower to suppress the STS, and force the opponent to retreat and hide."

"Then, we entered the theater of operations in four assault formations to carry out clearance operations on the STS."

"The support group pays attention to the position of the enemy's support group and observation group."

"If you get a chance, take out their snipers first."

"Plan clearly, let's get moving!"

"Understood!"

At the sound of the order, all the members of the signal flag immediately took action.

By this time, the Syrian army's life-saving balance had largely been lost, and the last barricade in front of the besieged area was crumbling, and the barricade fell almost completely silent after STS called for air support again and fired a Tomahawk missile at the barricade.

Sporadic gunfire was still ringing, but every flicker of fire near the barricade would draw a ferocious response from the STS.

Their bullets flew like deadly vipers into the bodies of Syrian government soldiers who were so fragile that they didn't even have body armor, and then easily tore their flesh and shattered their bones.

When the last Heavy was killed by the snipers hiding in the building, the barricades fell silent.

The STS team members already saw the hope of victory, and they quickly occupied the barricade bunkers, prepared to establish forward fire support points, and continued to cover the evacuation of the rear support group and the observation group.

Gunfire rang out intermittently, and a new round of reinforcement from government forces had arrived.

But when they saw the corpses lying on the ground, the morale of this support force immediately fell into an unprecedented depression.

No one dared to storm the barricades that had fallen into the hands of the enemy, and all they could do was to raise their guns from a distance and symbolically strike a dozen in the direction of the enemy.

It is completely impossible to cause any deterrence to the STS, and in just a dozen seconds, they have completed the deployment of the team, and are even ready to start continuing to attack the periphery.

Once they really crossed the barricades, there would be no more suspense about the victory of this battle.

——

But at this moment, a sudden explosion sounded.

"Boom-"

Carrying 1.9 kg of explosives, the ZVO35E blasting anti-personnel projectile fell straight into the center of the barricade, and the STS, which had just established a defensive line, failed to react at all!

They can't be blamed for this, because this shell, unlike other mortars, barely made any sound before it exploded.

"Mortar! Mortar! ”

On the STS team's radio, Finch's anxious voice reached everyone's ears, and without him giving an order, the communicator immediately began to access the drone screen to find the location of the mortar position.

But this time, it didn't go very well.

Because neither from the infrared lens nor from the ordinary optical lens, he could not find the location of the mortar position!

More than a dozen seconds had passed, and by this time, the second mortar strike had arrived.

The sound of explosions covered almost the entire barricade, and the STS, who had just entered the bunker, were forced to re-exit, and they tried to get into the nearest buildings on both sides of the barricade to hide, trying to retain control of the barricade and this key retreat point, but the problem was that the signal flag did not give them this opportunity at all!

After the first mortar attack was completed, the AGS-30 automatic howitzer, which had been erected to the window inside the ruins, opened fire at the same time.

Dense shells rained down in the direction of the barricades, and the explosions continued so that in just over ten seconds, the entire area was completely covered.

"Boom, boom—"

The explosion was almost loud, and the five STS pioneers who had just been withdrawn from the barricade finally retreated into the two-story building on the side of the street after paying the price of two team members falling to the ground.

At this moment, a burst of inexplicable fear suddenly surged in the heart of the team leader.

Because from the "attack" that just took place, he had already discerned the style of this unit.

"Signal flags! The signal flag is coming! ”

"Shrink quickly! Call for air support! Call for air support! ”

The voice fell, and the communicator finally locked on the position of the mortar position.

Along with the transmission of coordinate information, the last air-launched Tomahawk missile carried on the F-16 quickly broke away from the pylon, and then pounced on the mortar position at an unstoppable speed!

After the loud bang, the compound where the mortar positions were located had been blown into ruins.

But the problem is that the members of the signal flag operating the mortar have long since moved their positions.

They left behind the barrel of the gun, which had already produced a clear heat signature after the hit, as a decoy, and continued to carry a drill-type bazooka to launch an artillery attack on the vanguard of the second echelon of the STS.

The figure of the desert camouflage flashed around the street corner, and immediately after, 6 rockets almost at the same time crossed a distance of hundreds of meters and exploded directly in front of the second team of the STS!

Debris flew like a rain of iron, and the two STS members who had no time to react were instantly knocked down.

The rest of the team quickly dragged them backwards, and at the same time, the methodical counterattack finally began.

Light machine guns suppress, smoke grenades cover the battlefield, and aerial fire strikes block and divide.

A set of standard processes went down, and the offensive of the signal flag was sluggish.

"1 group, 1 group hasn't been withdrawn yet!"

Wade, already distraught, shouted over the radio, but now, Finch had no way to come to the rescue.

Because he knew that the signal flag was prepared.

They threw a whole bunch of punches like well-trained boxers, and this is when they are at their peak, and STS will pay a heavy price if they blindly go head-to-head.

Their only option was to abandon the "cut off" Vanguard 1 group, return to safety and form a team, and then launch an attack after the signal flag offensive was interrupted, using their situational awareness and firepower advantage to annihilate it.

It's definitely a cruel tactic, but on the battlefield, when everyone's life is threatened, he can only make such a choice.

For a time, the STS retreated in full, while the signal flags began to attack in a big way.

The assault group began to enter the field, rushing to the front of the assault group armed with Vant-BM shields, who cut in from the side, cut in with lightning speed, and quickly surrounded the building where the STS vanguard was located.

"On the grenade!"

The leader of the assault team had no intention of entering the building, relying on their heavy shields to block the bullets coming from the window, and the burly team members behind the shields did not even shake in the slightest.

Immediately afterwards, two RG-6 revolver grenades extended from behind the shields, the triggers were pulled continuously, and the grenades entered through the building window, and then exploded the moment they hit the ground.

"Boom-"

The explosions came and went, and within 15 seconds, the two men emptied the grenade in their hands, dropped the grenade launcher without hesitation, tapped the shield hand on the shoulder, and began to move forward.

Two stun grenades were dropped, and the assault man literally stepped on the explosion of the stun grenade and entered the room.

They did not use any CQB tactics, but with the advantage of their shields, they began to sweep the room.

——

In fact, this advantage is just too great.

In the eyes of the defending STS members, the exposed part of the assaulter 10 meters away was not even the size of a coin, but the assault man behind the shield already had all the aiming conditions.

Both sides fired almost simultaneously, with the STS bullets hitting the shields and walls, and the semaphore bullets hitting the STS members in the face.

The battle ended within 30 seconds, and all five STS team members, including two wounded, were pronounced dead.

Immediately afterward, the assault team exited the rear of the building without stopping and quickly moved into the next adjacent building.

The air support that Fincher called for had arrived, and it was an F-15 fighter jet that had been temporarily drawn from the Turkish Air Force.

But it lost the opportunity to attack the Vympel assault group, because by this time the two warring sides were already entangled in close proximity.

Fighter jets whizzed past with sonic booms, and the attacking signal flags on the ground didn't even look up at it.

Their gaze had locked on deeper into the besieged zone.

There, there are close to 20 "enemies" waiting to be dealt with

(End of chapter)