Russia to Reinforce Security in Its Military Bases in Syria

Russia will reinforce security in its military facilities in Syria by sending two special battalions, East and West, local media reported on Thursday.

The departure of the Russian commandos will take place this month, according to Izvestia, which quoted sources from the Ministry of Defense.

The newspaper added that the two battalions, created in 2003, are mostly made up of Chechen soldiers who have already participated in operations in Georgia in August 2008 and in antiterrorist actions before.

In addition, the two battalions were deployed in Lebanon in 2006 to protect the Russian sappers who removed mines from bridges and other objectives after Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon.

The newspaper underlines that East and West have vast experience in operations in mountainous regions in Chechnya and in urban areas as wells.

The air base of Jmeimim is surrounded by mountains, while the naval base of Tartus is in an urban zone, said Izvestia.

Until now, Russia's personnel in Syria was in charge of maintaining and piloting fighters and to provide services to Russian ships, as well as the units of the complex S-400 and Bastion missiles.