Sorry mate but this article is yet more PRBS...roughly in same league with that PRBS about Turkish attack on Aleppo termal powerplant.
Since days I'm asking all over the place (also to thank some of sources for my book
Syrian Conflagration, which is now finally going to press), searching for any sort of evidence around the internet etc.
Either the entire 'Syrian Arab Army' is on vacation at Vanuatu, or it completely disappeared. Whatever is the case, it's surely not in Syria.
This offensive in northern Hama and eastern Lattakia is run by a body officially designated '4th Assault Corps' (Russians call it '4th Assault Army'). Some of units cited so far - like that unlucky '87th Brigade from the 11th Armoured Division', or the '47th Regiment of the 1st Armoured Division' (cited
here, for example) - do remind of the times there was an 'official Army', but they are none of that since long.
1st Armoured fell apart already back in April-May 2011. Whatever cadre and troops it managed to mobilize were organized into the 76th Armoured Brigade (also known as 'Death Brigade'), which was not only weakened in battles with insurgents already back in 2012, but subsequently one of first units to get reorganized as a part of the NDF. So, if '47th Regiment', then it's a former Special Forces unit of the former Special Forces Command, which was attached to the 76th to 'beef it up' - before this was re-organized as an element of the NDF.
I.e., at best, it's the 47th Battalion/76th Brigade NDF - which seems to be something like 'Alawites only' outfit.
Similarly, the SSNP is no NDF, actually. It's a separate militia which the Iranians described as 'better than the NDF, much better than the Army, but poorer than the Ba'ath Party Militia' already two years ago. No doubt, though, the SSNP militia was 'integrated' into the NDF for this operation.
Even Syrian Hezbollah is not hiding any more: while the media is praising that Ba'ath Party Militia's 'Desert Hawks Special Forces Brigade' as running the relief attempt at Kweres AB (apparently stalled, then there are absolutely no reports about it since two days), IRGC-QF is making no secret out of the fact that this operation is run by 'Imam al-Bakir Brigade NDF'. Nor that this must be as stuffed full of Afghan Hazaras as its 'own' Liwa Fatemioun Brigade (which is presently in NE Aleppo), then otherwise there would be no reason to organize funerals for its KIA in Qom.
Somebody please explain me: since when is 'Syrian Arab Army' naming its units after some Shi'a martyrs...and since when are soldiers of 'Syrian Arab Army' burried in Qom...?
Heh, even ex-SyAAF pilots do not consider that air force 'Syrian' any more, but call it 'Assadist air force' - precisely because they know what's actually going on there.
So, overall: if the 'Russians are reorganizing' anything there, then they're just continuing the process started already by Soleimani and Hamedani back in summer of 2013. They're integrating various gangs and militias as 'regime's new military', and re-naming these from 'NDF' to 'Soleimani's Alawite/Afghan Army' - or whatever else. :cool: