(Zaman Al Wasl)- Russian military police killed two members of the Iraqi al-Baqr militia in al-Halwaniyah neighborhood in eastern Aleppo last week while a Russian military member was injured during the clash, sources said.
The clash erupted when the Russian army stopped a truck loaded with household furniture. The al-Baqr militia member driving the truck did not have a document proving his ownership of the objects in the car. The patrol tried to arrest him and he began firing at the patrol leading to the injury of a Russian soldier.
The Russian patrol requested additional backup in tandem with the arrival of more members of the al-Baqr militia. The clashes ended with the killing of two members of the al-Baqr militia.
Opposition newspaper Aleppo Now reported that the al-Baqr militia detained members of the Russian forces indicating that there is an ongoing Iranian-Russian negotiation to release them. The well informed source Zaman al-Wasl spoke to refuted these claims pointing out that the militia is not subordinate to Iran but is a tribal militia subordinate to the so called National Defense, and of its members are from the al-Baggara tribe.
Abu Mahmoud Omar, a member of the al-Assad military, said that the Russian military police operation focuses on preventing appearances of armament, and restraining the militias from looting in the city. The military police became a nightmare chasing after looters. The source pointed out that despite this the military police have not been able to stop the appearances of armament or the looting.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced in December 2016 that it would send a brigade of military police to Aleppo city to offer assistance, according to local officials, in ensuring the regime’s presence and providing security.
In a related context, a source close to the regime command operation room in the city said that over 50 members of the regime forces have been assassinated by unknown persons during the last month.
The source pointed out that “sleeper cells” belonging to the opposition factions have entered the city with the aim of executing these operations amid fears of an escalation in the operations to include commanders in the regime forces or members of the Russian military police.
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