Syrian army using new ‘highly effective’ Russian weapons: Report
Weeks after the US started to sound alarms about a Russian military buildup in Syria, the country’s military, which faces a manpower shortage, has reportedly started using new types of Russian air and ground weapons.
A military source told Reuters in an exclusive report on Thursday that the new weapons “are highly effective and very accurate, and hit targets precisely”. Syrian soldiers were trained in recent months on how to use them, the source reportedly said.
Revelations of the new weaponry come as the Islamic State (IS) group reported on Thursday that it has shot down a MiG-21, a Russian jet, near the Jazal oil field in the Homs governorate.
The Syrian air force launched heavy air strikes on Thursday on Raqqa, IS's de facto capital which is frequently attacked by the US-led coalition against the group.
The airstrikes on Raqqa are seen as quite rare as government airstrikes have typically targeted cities held by rebel forces.
IS claimed that the strikes killed at least 30 people and injured dozens others, according to Al Jazeera.
Al-Watan newspaper, close to the government, said the government and Russia were "on the same page concerning the solution to the crisis".
The article came on the same day the UN envoy for Syria is in Damascus to discuss his peace proposals which would set up four working groups to address safety and protection, counter-terrorism, political and legal issues and reconstruction.
The paper said de Mistura's plan "is aligned with the positions held by the 'opposition coalition,' America, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, who want the political solution to come before the fight against terrorism."
Later on Thursday, barrel bomb attacks by Syrian government helicopters killed at least 21 civilians in a rebel-held town near Daraa city, a monitoring group said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government helicopters "dropped barrel bombs on neighbourhoods in Busra al-Sham in Daraa province," killing at least 21 people, including two children and four women.
Earlier, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said the strikes had killed 17 people in the town in southern Syria.
Rebel groups seized full control of Busra al-Sham, an ancient town with both Sunni and Shia residents, in March.
The United States, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia have been leading backers of the political and armed opposition throughout Syria's conflict, which has forced millions to flee since it broke out in 2011.
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