[ISRAELNATIONALNEWS] Syria gives Hezbollah 75 Russian tanks to make armored division. Russia assures Israel that it has always been responsible in Middle East.
Syria is going to give 75 Russian tanks to the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai reports.
The tanks are models T-55 and T-72 and intended to help Hezbollah create an armored division, supposedly to fight against al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups. In addition, Russia has approved a plan for 100 Iranian officers and special forces troops to help teach Hezbollah urban warfare skills.
The report further claimed that Russia, Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah have opened a "joint operations room" to coordinate their fight against ISIS.
The newspaper quotes official sources as saying that each party will be responsible for particular areas of Syria, with Russia operating in Latakia, Hama and some parts of the Aleppo province, while Iran will be defending the capital Damascus and down to Quneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. The report also states that some 100 Iranian special forces trained in urban warfare have arrived in Damascus
Hezbollah will reportedly be taking up positions around Homs, where the ancient city of Palmyra — now largely decimated by Islamic State — is located. The Syrian army has received substantial support from thousands of fighters dispatched from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon — and most notably fellow Iranian client Hezbollah. |