Syria

From ISIS To US-Backed "New Syrian Army" - "They Change Their Spots" Russia Alleges

According to a new Reuters report, the chief of the Russian General Staff has accused the United States of hosting a training facility for ISIS fighters in Syria along the Syria-Iraq border. Al-Tanf base on Syria's southeast side has been under the control of the US-backed "New Syrian Army" and their US special forces advisers since the area was captured from ISIS in August of 2016.

Russia's defense ministry has announced it is now in the process of establishing two permanent military bases in war-torn Syria after President Putin authorized prior deals with the Syrian government to move forward. Though Russia maintains merely up to ten military bases on foreign soil, the installations in Tartus and Khmeimim will be the most strategically located, allowing for a growing and permanent Russian presence on the Mediterranean, something which has already raised eyebrows in the West.

Yesterday, militants stationed in Hama, a governate in northern Syria, shot down a L-39 Albatros fighter belonging to the Syrian army, killing its pilot.

Though details about which militant group carried out the attack and the fate of the pilot remain sketchy, a video has surfaced on social media showing a militant firing what appears to be a shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft gun into the sky.

The projectile appears to strike an object, then, moments later, a plume of smoke rises from the ground in the distance. All the while, machine guns can be heard in the background.

Via Southfront.org,

https://southfront.org/wp-content/plugins/fwduvp/content/video.php
The Current State of Affairs

Authored by Alex Gorka via The Strategic Culture Foundation,