Russian-backed division conducts military drills in Syria’s Idlib
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – The Russian-backed Division 25 affiliated with the Syrian government forces conducted advanced military training in central and northwest Syria, which is considered a major stronghold for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) and other Turkish-backed opposition factions, at the request of Russian forces in order to fight in Ukraine, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said, Thursday.
The Division 25 led by Suhail al-Hassan, Known as “Tiger”, is the major fighting group in the Russian-air-backed government’s battles in northwestern Syria.
These military drills are an attempt by Russia to send clear messages to the international community that Syrian military Divisions of the “regime’s army” are on standby to fight alongside Russians in the Russian-Ukrainian war in the event of escalating fighting, according to SOHR.
The Russian Sputnik news agency cited sources as saying that the “Tiger conducted advanced military drills for the third consecutive day in areas in Idlib for airdrops by members the Division 25 Special Missions.”
The “Division 25 special operations”, which was formed in 2013, spreads on contested front-lines in the Syrian Desert as well as Idlib fronts.