DAMASCUS: Syria said on Tuesday it had received sophisticated new arms from Russia, including warplanes, and deployed them against jihadists, as signs grew of a major shift in the country´s four-year conflict.
A senior military official told AFP Damascus had received a fresh batch of arms, including at least five fighter planes, while a monitoring group said there had been a marked increase in regime attacks on the Islamic State group.
The deliveries came amid a rapid Russian military build-up in Syria, with US officials saying Moscow had deployed 28 combat planes and begun drone flights in the country.
The war in Syria has taken on a new dimension in recent days as Moscow has moved to boost its military presence there, raising deep concerns in Washington.
The Syrian military official said the new warplanes had arrived Friday along with reconnaissance aircraft at a military base in Latakia province, the traditional heartland of President Bashar al-Assad´s regime.
Damascus had also received “sophisticated military equipment to fight IS,” including targeting equipment and precision-guided missiles, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The new weapons had already been deployed against IS in the cities of Deir Ezzor and Raqa, the jihadist group´s de facto capital in Syria.
”Russian weapons are starting to have an effect in Syria,” the official said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said new Russian equipment was being put into action, with at least 38 IS fighters killed Monday in air strikes in jihadist-held towns in central Syria.
“The number of raids is growing and the strikes are more precise after the Syrian air force received arms and more efficient planes from Moscow,” Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Moscow has been an unwavering supporter of Assad during a conflict that has seen more than 240,000 killed since March 2011, insisting it
would continue arms deliveries.
But Russia´s intentions have been unclear in recent days as it deployed a range of new weaponry and troops to its airbase near Latakia.
On Monday, US officials said Moscow had deployed 12 SU-24 attack aircraft, 12 SU-25 ground attack aircraft and four Flanker fighter jets.
They said there were also about 20 Russian combat and transport helicopters at the base and that Moscow was operating drone flights.
”They are not going to sit around,” said Jeffrey White of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
After an 18-month freeze in military relations triggered by NATO anger over Moscow´s role in the Ukraine crisis, US and Russian military officials held talks Friday aimed at avoiding unintended incidents in Syria.
”A joint mechanism for preventing misunderstandings between our forces” was agreed to at talks in Russia, Netanyahu´s office said.
Israeli forces have reportedly carried out several strikes in Syria on attempted Iranian arms transfers to Lebanese movement Hizbullah, an Assad ally.
The deployments come as Russia pushes for the coalition of Western and regional powers fighting IS to join forces with Assad against the jihadists.