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.

According to a researcher of the US Military Academy, the most effective weapon on the modern battlefield is concrete barriers. Photo: mwi.usma.edu Concrete is the most effective weapon on the modern battlefield, a former coach of the US Army, Major John Spencer, who is currently engaged in theoretical researches in the US Military Academy (USMA), also known as West Point, concluded. In his essay, posted on a website of the academy, Spencer unequivocally states that concrete barriers that are used in Iraq and Afghanistan today, have made to security of American soldiers, involved in these conflicts, much more than any other military hardware that they have, including the most complex ones. “Many soldiers deployed to Iraq became experts in concrete during their combat tours. Concrete is as symbolic to their deployments as the weapons they carried. No other weapon or technology has done more to contribute to achieving strategic goals of providing security, protecting populations, establ

A new photo, showing an upgraded variant of the BMP-1 infantry combat vehicle, was published online. Photo: twitter.com / MathieuMorant In recent months, the Syrian Army regularly demonstrates upgraded pieces of various armored vehicles. So, lately we can more and more often see fundamentally altered variant of the BMP-1 infantry combat vehicle , which in fact turned into an assault vehicle. At the beginning of this week a new photo of such a vehicle, which is in service in the Desert Hawks Brigade, was published in social media. The first unusual thing, which we can easily notice, is an armored cabin, mounted over the troop compartment and equipped with one or two machine guns. The photo clearly shows the Chinese W-85 heavy machine gun, which is currently in service of the Syrian Army . According to military experts, thanks to such a cabin an ability to monitor land environment was improved, and soldiers got an opportunity to respond to identified threats more quickly. In addition

AlMasdarNews reports: Reports have emerged that ISIS started withdrawing their heavy military equipment from from the towns of al-Qa’im, Rawah and Anah in Iraq’s Anbar province, to the Syrian desert city of Raqqa, which is also the terrorist groups defacto capital. Much of the equipment is rocket launchers, battle tanks and armored vehicles. This comes at a time when Mosul in Iraq’s Nineveh province is completely cut off from Syria and the terrorist group being battered by Iraqi forces, including the Kurdish Peshmerga and Shi’ite militias.

Since November 30, the media has been full of horrific reports about 45 civilians killed by the “regime artillery” in Aleppo city. According to reports, at least 45 civilians were killed by artillery strikes in the militant-held part of aleppo city on November 30. The story also exploded in the social media with numerous posts blaming the Syrian government/  Follow Louisa Loveluck   ✔ @leloveluck Horrific photos show aftermath of government shelling attack in east Aleppo's Jub al-Qubba district. 45 dead. Bodies line the streets. 10:18 AM - 30 Nov 2016     1,204 1,204 Retweets     351 351 likes  Follow Samantha Power   ✔ @AmbassadorPower Force yourself to view images from E  # Aleppo .  # Russia &regime deny killing civilians, seeking post-truth world,but carnage is fact& it's now. 10:22 PM - 30 Nov 2016     1,468 1,468 Retweets     954 954 likes However, the further dev

A new concept of foreign policy of the country has been approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: RIA Novosti / Aleksey Druzhinin) Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new concept of foreign policy of the country. A relevant decree and text of the concept have been published on the official web portal of legal information. The document focuses on a wide range of issues, including relations with the US and NATO, the situation in Syria, reduction of armaments, and development of relations between Russia and other countries. At the same time, the concept also lists main tasks of the country, such as consolidation of position of Russia as one of the most influential centers of the modern world, ensuring of global security, stability and fair democratic international system, based on equitable and partnership relations between states, and promotion of creation of networking alliances. Reduction of armaments According to the document,

This is the newst update of the ‘U.S. Carrier Strike Groups Locations Map’ exclusive series showing the approximate locations of U.S. Carrier Strike Groups on a weekly basis. SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence tracks locations of U.S. aircraft carriers using the available open-source information. No classified information was used in production of the map. Click to see the full-size map Carrier strike group (CSG) is an operational formation of the United States Navy. It is centered on an aircraft carrier and a carrier air wing (CVW) of 65 to 70 aircrafts. It’s composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least two destroyers and/or frigates. A carrier strike group also, on occasion, includes submarines, attached logistics ships and a supply ship. Carrier strike groups comprise a principal element of U.S. power projection over the world’s oceans.