(Zaman Al Wasl)- Military sources said regime's Air Force last Monday had moved 5 L-39ZA light attack aircrafts, one of the favoured platforms of the regime Air Force for performing ground attack missions, to al-Dumayr military airport that situated at the eastern edge of besieged Ghouta suburbs.
The move comes as regime forces backed by Russia and Shiite militias launch one of the deadliest offensives of the war.
Since the early stages of the Syrian revolution, the regime Air Force's L-39 Albatros aircraft have been routinely deployed in operations against various rebel ground forces, a number of these aircraft have also been shot down by ground fire. They were first used operationally during the Battle of Aleppo, launching several strikes upon rebel-held positions. It has been claimed the L-39 was the first fixed-wing aircraft to be employed against the rebels.
According to Reuters, by 2014 the L-39 had allegedly become one of the favored platforms of the regime Air Force for performing ground attack missions due to its slower speed and higher agility over other aircraft in its inventory. In December 2015, following the securing of the Kweiris airbase by regime forces, the resumption of ground-attack missions by L-39s in the vicinity of Aleppo commenced shortly thereafter.
Meanwhile, regime air strikes and bombardment have killed 674 people in 13 days in Eastern Ghouta.
The Security Council Saturday called for a 30-day countrywide truce. Russia, which backs the Syrian regime in the war, has instead called for daily humanitarian ceasefires from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Regime forces, including the elite Tiger Force, have been attacking rebels in the Maraj area of the Ghouta for several days. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday they had captured two villages - Hawsh al-Dawahra and Hawsh Zreika - in addition to hills and farmland.
In their turn, Syrian rebels, including powerful Jaish al-Islam, said they had thwarted regime offensive in Hawsh al-Dawahra, killing 52 soldiers in the past 48 hours.
The spokesman for Jaish al-Islam, one of the main Ghouta rebel groups, said Thursday regime forces had tried to divert their attention by opening a new front in the Hazerma area while also waging battles in nearby Hawsh al-Dawahra.
Rebels had used artillery fire to disable two tanks.
The commander in the military alliance that backs Assad said government forces had taken some villages on the Maraj al-Sultan area. (With Agencies)
Zaman Al Wasl
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