Moscow hailed what it said was “a dramatic shift” in the Syria conflict, declaring that the Syrian military, with Russian air support, was well on its way to pushing Islamist militants out of the central part of the war-torn-country. Senior Russian Defense Ministry official, Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi said that Russia had intensified its air campaign, flying nearly one thousand sorties in Syria and killing an estimated 800 militants in the last month alone, providing the Syrian military with a clear edge in defeating its enemies.
Another key component for the Syrian military’s substantial gains and the anticipated victory of President Bashar Assad in the five-and-a-half-years civil war, is its Lebanese ally, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which has entered the Syria conflict in 2013 on Assad’s behalf and has been hailed by the Syrian leader as a true friend of his regime that has written, together with Tehran and Moscow, the chapters of history for post-war Syria. During the conflict, Hezbollah has bolstered its powers both in combat experience and advanced weaponry; boasting of its most sophisticated capabilities, in a first public declaration of drone strikes against Islamic State positions in its latest operation on the Syrian border with Lebanon. Hezbollah deployed the drones to hit Islamic State positions, bunkers and fortifications in the Western Qalamoun area near the border. Footage released by the Iranian-backed militia showed two types of munition used by the drones, one of them with a tail fin, dropping toward the ground and explosions as they hit their targets. An Israeli intelligence official told TV7 that Israel is closely monitoring Hezbollah’s growing capabilities, particularly the Shi’ite group’s unmanned aerial vehicles division that, according to Israeli intelligence reports, has been equipped and trained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps. The Israeli official noted that several bases were located across Lebanon and Syria and that Hezbollah’s active role in the Syria-conflict is providing the shi’ite militia with both training and combat experience. The official further noted that Hezbollah has attempted on several occasions to penetrate Israel’s aerial space for unknown purposes, with Israel’s air force responding by successfully downing their drones. Nevertheless, the official voiced concern with regard to a future confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel, as the Iranian-backed militia will use its newly acquired capabilities to impose new challenges for the Jewish state. That said, the official stressed that the Israeli Air Force has not been idle in its preparation to combat this challenge, and Hezbollah will have to deal with several unpleasant surprises if it were to test Israel’s resolve.