FILE IMAGE: Sputnik/ Dmitriy Vinogradov
On Saturday, special operations units from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Tiger Forces carried out a successful air landing operation behind ISIS lines in the eastern Homs countryside, according to an official statement of the Syrian Ministry of Defense.
SAA special operations unites landed 21 km behind the ISIS defense lines in Homs Desert and captured Khirbet Makman village and the strategic Al-Qadir town, according to the statement. Furthermore, the SAA advanced 12 km in the southern Raqqa countryside and captured Bir Rahum village near the administrative border of Homs province.
Click to see the full-size image
Syrian special operations forces killed and injured large numbers of ISIS fighters, and destroyed 3 battle tanks, 17 armed vehicles, 7 VBIEDs, and captured two VBIEDs, two tanks and several ISIS artillery pieces during the successful operation, according to the Syrian Ministry of Defense.
This was the first time when the SAA carried out an air landing operation during the ongoing war. According to some experts, the operation was directly assisted by the Russian military.
SAA special operations unites are now only 40km away from SAA position in Sukhnah town. It’s believed that ISIS may withdrew from the whole area if the SAA continues advancing in the area. ISIS is left with a single supply road throw Al-Tybah town that’s only 20km from SAA positions in Sukhnah town.
Air landings behind ISIS lines are considered complex and dangerous operations. ISIS eliminated the US-backed New Syrian Army after a failed landing in June 2016 when ISIS managed to kill most of the fighters and capture large quantities of weapons and military equipment.
