Alexander Mercouris
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
As the military crisis in the desert city of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria continues, there are reports that 6 Russian TU22M3 medium bombers have again been in action against ISIS positions there.
The air strike comes two days after an earlier strike by the same group of 6 TU22M3 medium bombers.
The targets of these strikes are almost certainly not front line ISIS positions, but ISIS’s local headquarters, their supply depots and ammunition dumps, and their deployment areas.
Over time these sort of strikes degrade ISIS’s ability to sustain the attack on Deir Ezzor by depriving ISIS’s fighters there of the supplies and reinforcements they need to continue the battle.
It is the same tactic the Russian air force used successfully against the Al-Qaeda led Jihadis during their offensives to break the sieges of east Aleppo in August and September of last year.
It remains to be seen whether these strikes have come quickly enough to save the situation in Deir Ezzor.
Latest reports from there suggest that local Syrian army counter-attacks have improved the Syrian troops’ positions in the city, and that the Syrian military is now sending more reinforcements there drawn from elite Republican Guard units previously stationed in Damascus.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.