Russian Special Forces join Syrian Arab Army in Battle for Palmyra oil fields.

by Derek Gannon · December 12, 2016

Palmyra Syria - Reports coming out of Russian and Syrian media sources are indicating that Russian Special Forces have been seen joining in the fight to reclaim the strategically vital city of Palmyra from the Islamic State. Russian-led warplanes continue to pound the surrounding area of Palmyra on Monday as reinforcements from the Syria Arab Army flood into the southern city to push out Islamic State fighters in an attempt to stop what could turn into a bloody quagmire that the Assad regime and its Russian allies cannot afford.

Through sources on the ground, Syrian media out of Damascus is reporting that Russian Special Forces are playing a key role in destroying the latest ISIS offensive. Russian SOF have purportedly been actively engaging with ISIS opposition and directing Russian flown attack helicopters as well as warplanes via target designation in the Al-Amiriyah district to include the northwest mountain range of Jabal Tar as well as the Palmyra oil and gas refineries in the east. It is unclear whether the Russian Special Forces were already based at the Et Tifor airbase on the outskirts of the city or accompanied the tribal faction of the Syrian Arab Army(SAA) known as the ‘Qalamoun Shield’ out of Damascus. Elements of the SAA’s 11th and 18th Division along with the National Defense Force(NDF) and the ‘Shaheen Group’ or ‘Tiger Forces’ will join with the Qalamoun Shield to drive the some 4,000 Islamic State fighters out of the oil rich region of Palmyra and back into the desert. But where did ISIS gather such a force from?

About Derek Gannon

A freelance journalist based on the West Coast. Green Beret veteran of the Global War on Terror. He researches and reports on African, and Horn of Africa Terror Networks & News. Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Member, Humanist, and Former Armed Anthropologist that longs for what was, the American Dream. Veteran of 82nd, 173rd, RTB, & "The Legion" 5th Special Forces Group (A/1/5 CIF). Twitter: @derekgannoncm6.

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peter h
"eluding" should be "alluding"
Jake D
From what I understand, we had a cordon set around Mosul and granted them safe passage to withdraw from the city. They primary "why" is easy: less fighters to deal with inside the city itself, but it is unclear what the second and third order effects of that are.
Sanmon
I started reading some of the major European papers and don't like what I am reading regarding US strategy. Here in the states we are reading and seeing who goes up to Trump Tower. I think Trump needs to be at his daily briefings "Daily". He may have the shortest 100 day honeymoon in Presidential history.
Michelle B
Did we (U.S.) provide ISIS safe passage on purpose, to redirect their attacks to Syria? (If we can control a region sufficiently to provide safe passage, surely we know who we are protecting in that passage, yeah?)
Sanmon
So if I am reading this correctly: We have been fighting ISIS in Iraq in the city of Mosul yet they escape the attack and now position themselves some 700 km down the road in Palmyra SYRIA and no one sees this movement of 5,000 ISIS troops. Who is helping ISIS make this great strategic movement? It sure is not Russia or Syria.