Russian ground troops spotted outside military bases in Syria
Date
11/10/2015 3:30:33 AM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) For more than 30 days Russia has been assisting the Syrian Army in its fight with the Syrian opposition and IS. While this assistance has so far been thought to be limited to air strikes now experts say there is rising amount of evidence that Russia is deploying ground troops far from its military facilities in Latakina and Tartus.
The activist group Conflict Intelligence Team stated that a number of Russian troops have been spotted near the Syrian cities of Hama Homs and Palmira which lie on the frontline of conflict between the Syrian army and the opposition. The group analyzed public photos of the alleged Russian soldiers that are accessible on social media and compared geotags and other geographical markings with the actual map of Syria.
Moreover reports says that Assad forces have recently started using modern Russian-made BTR-82A armored personnel carriers and BM-30 Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers. Meanwhile no comments have been made by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Last week Head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Col. Gen. Andrey Kartapolov stated that Russia carried out several airstrikes on IS positions with coordinates provided by the moderate factions of the Syrian opposition. This step has been largely seen as a humble attempt on the part of Russia to establish a coordination mechanism with the opposition.
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said in an interview with ABC News that the US is ready to send more advisors to Syria if there are more factions and local armed groups willing to fight IS and capable of doing so.
An increase of air raids on IS positions should take place in the next few weeks US Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles Brown Jr. told the media during the Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference on Saturday reported the Wall Street Journal.
Both Russia and the US are fighting IS in Syria though there is no cooperation between the two mainly because both maintain different positions on a potential resolution to the Syrian Civil War. Both parties have also signaled that they are ready to increase their respective presences on the battlefield in the country.
ByTimur Akhmetov
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