Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Russian Special Forces Are Shaping The Fight In Syria

Washington Post: How Russian special forces are shaping the fight in Syria

The troops that recently recaptured Palmyra, Syria, from the Islamic State included Syrian, Iranian and Hezbollah forces. And on Monday, Russian officials said there was another group that contributed to the victory: Russia’s elite special forces, also known as Spetsnaz.

Russian troops are nothing new to the Syrian ground war. Since their arrival in September, the Russians have used naval infantry to secure a key port in Tartus and the perimeter of an airfield in Latakia. But Russian special forces operating on the front — aside from a small number of artillery and tank units — have remained mostly out of the public eye.

With the seizure of Palmyra, though, that is no longer the case. Russian officials announced Monday that Palmyra was “liberated with participation of Spetsnaz and military advisers.” The Islamic State took Palmyra in May and shortly after partially destroyed a number of the city’s historic sites.

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WNU Editor: I am sceptical that they are having having that much of an impact on the overall war .... but in battles for the Syrian town of Palmyra, their presence has probably helped, especially in assisting in the targeting for Russian air strikes.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Never send a child (Obama) to do a man's job (Putin).

fazman said...

You can say that again. No doubt the spetznatz are hitting waaaaayyy above their weight.