The Syrian military has begun to use their new Russian-made MiG-29 jets against enemy forces in northwestern Syria, the Russian Embassy in Damascus stated on Wednesday, and further confirmed by an Al-Masdar source.
According to the Russian Embassy’s statement, the Syrian military has already received its second batch of advanced MiG-29 jets, which are also in use by their air force.
A Syrian military source had previously said, “As of the beginning of June, the Syrian pilots will start carrying out the scheduled shifts of these aircraft in Syrian airspace .”
The source added that the planes, which are more effective than their previous generation, carried out their flights from the Hemeimeem base to Syrian military bases across the country.
Another military source in Damascus told Al-Masdar last week that the deal to supply these jets to the Syrian Armed Forces was made this year, adding that the Russian military has more planned upgrades for Syria.
This move comes nearly three months after the Turkish military launched a heavy attack that targeted the Syrian army’s equipment in northwestern Syria.
The Turkish attack resulted in heavy losses for the Syrian army, especially to their armored vehicle arsenal.
Lattakia
Syrian warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on the positions of the foreigner-led Turkistan Islamic Party in the northwestern countryside of Hama and neighboring Lattakia.
According to a field source in the Lattakia Governorate, the Syrian Air Force unleashed a big attack along the northwestern axis of Hama, hitting a jihadist base inside the town of al-Sirmaniyeh.
The source said the Syrian Air Force then expanded their assault to the Lattakia Governorate, where they repeatedly bombed the Turkistan Islamic Party’s positions inside the key mountaintop town of Kabani.
He would add that the Syrian Air Force has made the decision to heavily concentrate on this region of Syria after a string of attacks against the Syrian Arab Army and Russian military.
A new report from northwestern Syria also claimed that approximately 1,500 armed men from the Turkistan Islamic Party, Hurras al-Deen group, and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham went towards the front lines in Jabal al-Zawiya and the al-Ghab Plain, after they moved their families to the areas near the Syrian-Turkish border.
With these latest airstrikes on the Idleb-Hama-Lattakia border triangle, it appears that the Syrian military is preparing to launch a new attack on this imperative region of northwestern Syria.
It is noteworthy to mention that the Syrian Armed Forces have repeatedly attempted to capture the town of Kabani in northeastern Lattakia; however, all of their offensives have been repelled by the jihadist rebels there.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
