The Russian Special Forces have trained units of the Syrian Special Forces to fight against terrorists of the Islamic State in Homs province.
Photo: i1os.com
Hundreds of soldiers of the Syrian Special Forces have been trained by Russian military experts to fight against terrorists of the Islamic State (IS) group in eastern Homs and on the territories, located to the west of newly-liberated Palmyra city, the al-Watan newspaper reported on Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, trained units of the Syrian Special Forces, which received a name ‘IS Hunters’, had played a significant role in the liberation of Palmyra city from IS terrorists. As Al-Watan noted, now, so-called IS Hunters will maintain security of government facilities, airbases, arms and ammunition depots in the region, as well as fight against terrorists on oil and gas fields. Reportedly, Syrian servicemen were trained by the Russian Special Forces in Lattakia.
As the newspaper noted, at the same time, Russian military experts have started to train 100 pilots of the Syrian Air Force on new models of the MIG fighter jets.
On March 2, Damascus and Moscow announced that the Syrian Army, backed up by the Russian Aerospace Forces, managed to regain control of Palmyra city. Press secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported to the commander-in-chief, President Vladimir Putin, that the city of Palmyra, located in Homs province, was liberated from IS terrorists. A few hours after, the General Command of the Syrian Armed Forces also confirmed the report.
The city of Palmyra already was liberated from terrorists in March 2016, but in December, militants again managed to take control over the city. For the first time, terrorists took Palmyra in May 2015.
