Russian advisers took part in the development of the operation to liberate Syrian Palmyra from ISIS, the General Staff said

A Syrian army soldier in positions near the city of Palmyra. March 24, 2016 (Photo: Valery Sharifulin/TASS)

Russian military advisers took an active part in the development of the operation to liberate Palmyra from the terrorists of the Islamic State (ISIS) banned in Russia. This was announced by the head of the main operational directorate of the General Staff, Sergei Rudskoy.

“Russian military advisers took a direct and active part in the development of the operation to liberate Palmyra,” he said at a briefing on Thursday (quoted by Interfax). Rudskoy did not provide any other details.

According to him, during the operation to liberate Palmyra from March 7 to March 27, Russian military aircraft carried out about 500 sorties and carried out more than 2 thousand strikes against ISIS terrorists. As a result of these attacks, the general noted, the main strongholds and artillery positions on all dominant heights were destroyed.

Rudskoy said that Russian aviation destroyed most of the militants’ control centers in the first two days of the operation. In addition, he emphasized, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft daily destroyed “vehicle convoys with militants and ammunition that were trying to break into Palmyra from Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor” (quoted from TASS ). After the liberation of Palmyra, scattered groups that escaped the encirclement were destroyed by Russian aircraft while trying to escape in the direction of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, the general added.

The Ministry of Defense posted two videos on its YouTube page showing the destruction of ISIS targets in the Palmyra area in Syria. The strikes were carried out by Russian Mi-28N attack helicopters and Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft.

Combat use of an anti-tank guided missile by a Mi-28N helicopter against ISIS terrorists in the area of Syrian Palmyra (Video: Russian Ministry of Defense) Air strikes of the Russian Aerospace Forces against manpower and terrorist infrastructure in the area of Syrian Palmyra (Video: Russian Ministry of Defense)

The liberation of the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS, which captured the city in May 2015, became known on March 27 . The operation took place with the support of Russian aviation. Preparations for the assault on Palmyra lasted for several days. On March 24, Syrian television reported that the government army had entered Palmyra. Syrian troops drove the militants out of the “heart of the city” and fought them in street battles. Later, information was received that Bashar al-Assad’s troops control the historical part of Palmyra - the ruins of an ancient city included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Capture of Palmyra: The Syrian army is fighting for the ancient city Photo gallery

On March 24, a representative of the Russian base Khmeimim reported the death of a Russian officer in the Palmyra area . According to him, he died near the village of Tadmor while performing a special task of directing aircraft strikes against IS terrorist targets. “The serviceman died heroically, causing fire on himself, after he was discovered by terrorists and surrounded,” said the Russian representative.

Prior to this, on February 1, 2016, military adviser Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Cheremisin was killed in Syria. According to the Ministry of Defense, Cheremisin was in Syria as a military adviser. “The Russian military adviser in Syria carried out tasks to assist the Syrian army in the development of new weapons supplied under existing interstate contracts for military-technical cooperation,” the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.

On March 23, the first deputy commander of the Central Military District, Colonel General Alexander Dvornikov, admitted to Rossiyskaya Gazeta that it was he who commanded the military group of the Russian army in Syria . He confirmed the participation of ground units in the operation. “I won’t hide the fact that units of our special operations forces are also operating on Syrian territory,” Dvornikov noted. According to the general, Russian military personnel carried out additional reconnaissance of targets for Russian air strikes, guided aircraft to targets in remote areas and solved “other special tasks.” The commander also noted that Russian military advisers continue to work in Syria “at all levels, including tactical.”

The General Staff spoke about the participation of Russian advisers in the capture of Palmyra