Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed his ruthless special forces team to Syria for a single mission: search and destroy ISIS militants. The feared Spetsnaz unit, along with a battalion of elite paratroopers, made its way into the worn-torn Syria provinces to wipe out the ISIS militants and rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
If ISIS’s claim that it bombed the Russian passenger plane in revenge for Russia’s involvement in Syria is true, then analysts and other experts believe that it will only strengthen Putin’s resolve to target ISIS more aggressively.
The deployment of the Spetsnaz, known as the most elitist Russia’s army commandos who undergo grueling training to join these privileged ranks, is the latest example of Putin’s ruthless determination to shore up the rule of his close ally, Bashar al-Assad.
This elite team have a deep hatred of jihadists, dating back to the 1990’s when they fought in Chechnya’s bloody civil war, when Islamist fanatics battled for independence and carried out frequent atrocities against Russian citizens.
Who are the Spetsnaz special forces?
The Spetsnaz unit “…will not be as accountable as British or US special forces. They are there for one reason, to wipe out anyone threatening Assad. By any means. And by doing that they will be consolidating Russia’s position on the Med and in the Middle East,” a military source told the Mirror.
(h/t Express)
