The US Air Force has mounted air strikes in Syria as the nation’s fallen dictator Bashar al-Assad has emerged in Russia, and questions mount about Russia’s airpower foothold in the Middle East.
The 8 December air strikes were conducted against the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group in central Syria, according to the US military’s Central Command.
Aircraft involved in the strikes included Boeing B-52 bombers, F-15s, and Fairchild Republic A-10s. Over 75 targets comprising “ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps” were hit.
The strikes followed the collapse of the Assad dictatorship following rapid advances by rebels in the east of the country.
“There should be no doubt – we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” says General Michael Kurilla, who commands Central Command.
“All organisations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way.”
Russia’s official news agency, Tass, cites Kremlin sources as saying that Assad and his family are now in Moscow, apparently following an urgent departure from Syria.
Tass makes no mention of how Assad travelled to Russia, but there is speculation that he had departed Damascus on a Syrian Air Ilyushin Il-76 (YK-ATA). Flight tracking sites show that this aircraft last operated flight RB9218 during the early morning of 8 December, and that contact with the aircraft was lost near Beirut.
Speculation on-line suggests that the jet, with its transponder possibly switched off, may have flown to Syria’s Khmeimim air base at Latakia, where Assad and his family then boarded a Russian Il-76 bound for Moscow.
The collapse of the Assad regime raises questions about Russia’s continued presence at Khmeimim. In the 2010s, Russian combat aircraft operating from the base helped prop up Assad’s brutal regime during Syria’s civil war.
A 9 December report from Tass, quoting Kremlin sources, indicates that Russia has received security guarantees from rebel forces for Russian bases and diplomatic missions in the country. As recently as 7 December, however, Tass had reported that Russian and Syrian combat aircraft had struck rebel forces near the city of Homs, “killing dozens of terrorists, their vehicles, and equipment”.
Social media posts suggest that Russian forces may be evacuating Khmeimim as well as the naval base at Tartus, Moscow’s only naval base in the Mediterranean.
The loss of access to Khmeimim would reduce Moscow’s ability to project airpower in the Middle East, the eastern Mediterranean and Africa.
