Just a note regarding CNN's report about Assadists moving their aircraft to the Russian Air Base: this is complete nonsense, but then so typical for the Pentagon when it comes to Syria.

Pay attention (excerpt from that and other of similar CNN's reports):

The movement of the aircraft to the air base at Bassel Al-Assad International Airport began shortly after the US's April 6 Tomahawk cruise missile strike on Sharat air base, which destroyed some 24 Syrian warplanes in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that the US says Syria launched from that airfield.

The move places the Syrian aircraft in close proximity to Russia's Khmeimim Air Base -- where the majority of Russian air forces helping ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime are based -- in Latakia Governorate, Syria.
...
Basel al-Assad International is the SAME like Hmemmem AB. One is the civilian-, the other is the military designation for the SAME air base. They are not 'in close proximity', but the same.

Therefore, anybody babbling in this style, has not even taken a look at the map of Syria.

But then, that's typical 'Pentagon-created' BS. People generally think that all the US intel agencies think the same way. They do not. There are different people, with their own, different mindsets and interests at the top of each intelligence service. Plus, each of intelligence service is actually responsible to a different set of political masters. Each of mindsets in question is producing reporting coloured by its own interests.

In the case of Syria, there are two primary sets of thinking in the USA - and thus two primary sets of politics:

a) DIA (Defence Intelligence Agency) + Pentagon; this way of thinking is dominating the US politics regarding Syria since 2012. Propagators of this this way of thinking cannot stop providing clear evidence that they are piss-poor informed about Syria - regardless if it's about the Syrian military or whatever else (though excelling at cooperating with Marxist terrorist groups, like the PKK). These are the same people that have intentionally published such idiotic reports like those that the al-Qaida is at least co-responsible for protesting of 2011, i.e. that the revolution is de-facto an uprising of extremist islamists.

b) CIA + State Department (the latter is the foreign ministry of the USA); this one knows what is really going on in Syria, but next to nobody is listening to it.

Add to this the fact that Hmemmem is since August 2015 - and for all legal and practical purposes - a Russian, and not a Syrian air base. And that it lacks the space to receive something like, say, 10-15 SyAAF aircraft...

So, when I now hear the CNN babbling things like, 'sources in the Pentagon said...' - sorry, I want to see evidence first. Even more so because I know very well how many of 'sources in the Pentagon' are regularly using social media to 'obtain information' (rather sad for people in their position). They never had really good insights in Syria, they never had any kind of useful HUMINT, and this is now showing in CNN's reporting too.

Ah yes... and for those that might have their 'doubts' about quality of information upon which this 'opinion' of mine is based, here links to my summaries on registered flying activity by the Russians and Assadists over Syria in the last month:

Air Strikes by VKS & SyAAF, 20 April

...

Air Strikes by VKS & SyAAF, 17 April

Air Strikes by VKS & SyAAF, 16 April

Air Strikes by VKS & SyAAF, 15 April

Air Strikes by VKS (few by SyAAF), 14 April

Air Strikes by VKS (few by SyAAF), 13 April

...

Air Strikes by SyAAF and VKS, 7 April, UPDATE

...

Collection of Links on Air Warfare by Syrian Arab Air Force and Russian AirSpace Force in#Syria

etc., etc., etc....

Whoever thinks the Pentagon (and the CNN) is right, please feel free to correct me - preferably with help of evidence for any of SyAAF aircraft being 'moved to proxmity of the Russian air base at Basel al-Assad Airport'...