The Syrian regime, which had appeared earlier this year to be on the ropes, has “launched a wide-scale offensive,” a senior military official said Thursday.
The aim, Syrian army chief of staff Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayyoub said on state media, is “eliminating the terrorist groups and liberating the areas and towns that have suffered from terrorism and its crime.”
Ayyoub provided no details of the area in which the offensive is being launched or its size and scope.
But he acknowledged the key role being played by Russia, which appears bent on supporting a Syrian regime that had been badly in need of help.
“Following the Russian military airstrikes that diminished the fighting capacity of ISIS and other terrorist groups, the Syrian armed forces maintained their military initiative,” Ayyoub said.
