A few others to give an idea as to whats going on behind the scenes with these videos.






They aren't going in without being covered, but by the same token they do not want to fight for each building with infantry. They would rather destroy an area by fire than suffer casualties assaulting it directly.

The purpose of the tanks seem to be
1. Provide direct fire support/destroy barricades or enemy positions.
2. Provide support during raids.
3. Provide cover to infantry.

It would appear that with an assault ideally the tanks are covered by infantry. The tanks are used to reduce strong points by fire, create breaches and cover an assault party while both are covered by heavy weapons and infantry set up in buildings to the rear.

While a Western state may prefer to use infantry to clear urban areas, with the conditions that the SAA, especially the forces in Damascus, the tactics that they use seem to work for them. Civilian casualties aren't as much of a concern for them and there is no time limit for the end of operations. So they can afford to soften an area for weeks with artillery, and then conduct a limited attack into it to take an important area in it.

As regards equipment essentially all of what you see in the videos the SAA has had before the civil war. Most of is was chosen as part of considerations related to defense against a coup attempt or defense against Israel. That said it seems that the ERA on these T-72s seem to be effective against the ATWs that the insurgents have.