ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Russian Air Force will help Syrian government troops expel Islamist militants from Eastern Ghouta region through conducting selective airstrikes and cruise missile attack, a well-informed source in the Russian military command said. Al Masdar News has learnt that Russia's SU-33 fighter jets based on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov will bomb targets belonging to the Saudi-backed Jaysh al-Islam in Eastern Ghouta as part of a wider military operation currently launched by the Syrian Army to retake the longtime rebels bastion in southeast of Damascus. The source added that satellite-guided “Kalibr” cruise missiles will also be involved in the campaign by targeting the main and most protected command posts of Jaysh al-Islam. The prospected military operation comes as Islamist rebels rejected an evacuation agreement proposed by the Syrian government whereby Islamist fighters are relocated to the northwestern province of Idlib. Hundreds of militants have been evacuated recently by

The Guardian, one of the United Kingdom's biggest newspaper, has reported that the US and UK are considering dropping aid to jihadist militants in East Aleppo. The report claimed that little traction has been made in both countries as rival government agencies have differing opinions on it, and no military commander has supported the initiative. Such an endeavour could aggravate Syria or Russia to respond to planes delivering the aid that can cause a crisis, the report continued. The last high-profile meeting about airdropping supplies took place in the UK embassy in Washington last week but failed to reach any conclusions as Syrian military forces had retaken a large chunk of the militant-controlled parts. “There was talk in private that all this was too late,” said one of the participants in the meeting.