Syrian regime forces backed by key ally Russia is mobilizing troops to launch a major offensive on Hama and Homs provinces, seeking to fortify the predominantly Alawite Ghab plain, a military source told Zaman Al Wasl on Monday.
The source said the regime Army and allied troops from Hezbollah, Iran and Russia to launch a decisive ground attack to liberate the countryside of Hama and Homs provinces from rebels.
The strategic Ghab plain remains Russians' key target to protect what becomes a de facto Russian territory, activists said, in reference the coastal region , Bashar al-Assad's historical heartland.
Russian fighter jets launched their bombing campaign in Syria on Wednesday in support of al-Assad.
On Monday, Russian defense ministry said its jets struck 10 IISIS targets in on Monday, as Moscow ramped up its aerial campaign with bombardments that for the first time targeted the Damascus area.
"Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25 carried out 15 sorties from the Hmeimim airbase in the afternoon," the ministry said in a statement, adding that 10 facilities had been struck on the sixth day of Moscow's military intervention in Syria, AFP reported.
The raids notably destroyed an Islamic State command centre and communications hub in a mountainous area of Damascus province, the statement said.
They also destroyed IS command centres in the northern province of Aleppo, around 20 tanks and two ammunition depots in the eastern province of Homs, as well as 30 vehicles, including armoured vehicles, in northwestern Idlib province.
In relevant development, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, the head of the Russian parliament's defense committee, said Russian volunteers who have honed their combat skills in Ukraine are likely to travel to Syria to fight alongside the forces of al-Assad.
"It is likely that groups of Russian volunteers will appear in the ranks of the Syrian army as combat participants," Komoyedov told the Interfax-AVN news agency.
In northern Aleppo, At least 17 people on Monday were killed when Syrian regime warplanes targeted a marketplace in athe ISIS-held town of al Bab, activists told Zaman al Wasl.
The deadly aerial campaign on al-Bab town left 17 people killed and dozens wounded, just few days since 120 people were killed in double air strikes by Russian and Syrian fighter jets on the town that controlled by the Islamic State group.
More than 250,000 people have lost their lives in the 4-1/2 year war in Syria.
(Editing by Ridha Ali)
The source said the regime Army and allied troops from Hezbollah, Iran and Russia to launch a decisive ground attack to liberate the countryside of Hama and Homs provinces from rebels.
The strategic Ghab plain remains Russians' key target to protect what becomes a de facto Russian territory, activists said, in reference the coastal region , Bashar al-Assad's historical heartland.
Russian fighter jets launched their bombing campaign in Syria on Wednesday in support of al-Assad.
On Monday, Russian defense ministry said its jets struck 10 IISIS targets in on Monday, as Moscow ramped up its aerial campaign with bombardments that for the first time targeted the Damascus area.
"Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25 carried out 15 sorties from the Hmeimim airbase in the afternoon," the ministry said in a statement, adding that 10 facilities had been struck on the sixth day of Moscow's military intervention in Syria, AFP reported.
The raids notably destroyed an Islamic State command centre and communications hub in a mountainous area of Damascus province, the statement said.
They also destroyed IS command centres in the northern province of Aleppo, around 20 tanks and two ammunition depots in the eastern province of Homs, as well as 30 vehicles, including armoured vehicles, in northwestern Idlib province.
In relevant development, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, the head of the Russian parliament's defense committee, said Russian volunteers who have honed their combat skills in Ukraine are likely to travel to Syria to fight alongside the forces of al-Assad.
"It is likely that groups of Russian volunteers will appear in the ranks of the Syrian army as combat participants," Komoyedov told the Interfax-AVN news agency.
In northern Aleppo, At least 17 people on Monday were killed when Syrian regime warplanes targeted a marketplace in athe ISIS-held town of al Bab, activists told Zaman al Wasl.
The deadly aerial campaign on al-Bab town left 17 people killed and dozens wounded, just few days since 120 people were killed in double air strikes by Russian and Syrian fighter jets on the town that controlled by the Islamic State group.
More than 250,000 people have lost their lives in the 4-1/2 year war in Syria.
(Editing by Ridha Ali)
Zaman Al Wasl
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