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By Hummam Sheikh Ali
DAMASCUS, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Russian airstrikes against the jihadi groups positions have positively reflected on the morale and the performance of the Syrian army, whose troops seem to have regained confidence after the Russian support, a matter translated on the battlefields in recent days, analysts say.
A couple of weeks have passed since the Russian warplanes started striking the jihadi groups positions in Syria, and government officials and army officers hailed the strikes as efficient and fruitful.
Aside from the compliments between both allies, the Russians seem serious in their push toward battling the jihadi groups in Syria, while the Syrian ground forces seem to have been waiting this moment to unleash counter offensives.
Last Wednesday, and after almost a week of the beginning of the Russian airstrikes in Syria, the Syrian ground forces unleashed a broad offensive on several frontlines, namely in the countryside of the central province of Hama, the northwestern province of Idlib and the coastal city of Latakia.
The offensive aim to secure the vital areas where the Syrian regime needs to secure the roads and the areas between the capital Damascus and the Syrian coast and the northern province of Aleppo.
On Monday, the Syrian Military General Command said the Syrian army advanced on several fronts against armed militant groups, recapturing over 13 villages in a single day on Monday in the northern province of Aleppo, the countryside of the coastal city of Latakia and the central province of Hama.
The military operations have so far "inflicted hefty losses among the terrorist groups and a collapse in their morale, as large numbers of them have fled toward Turkey," the army said.
Such fresh battles mark the first instance that the Syrian military have carried out a broad offensive under direct Russian air support, which started in Syria late last month.
Ali Maqsud, a former military officer, told Xinhua that the Russian strikes have led to a collapse in the morale of the rebel groups in Syria, while reflected positively on the confidence of the Syrian army.
"The highly accurate Russian airstrikes on the terrorists' positions have positively reflected on the fighting spirit of the Syrian army, particularly the newly formed IV Corps," he said.
The formation of the military IV Corps, or the incursion troops, has been announced during a military statement last Wednesday.
This new military force is equipped with newly received Russian weapons, said Maqsud.
The ex-military officer said "the Russian strikes have unleashed a spiritual energy and pushed high the spirit of the Syrian army," adding that this high morale will translate into "a resounding victory and a defeat to the terror groups across Syria."
For his part, Osama Danura, a Syrian political researcher, told Xinhua that the Russian airstrikes have turned the power balance in Syria in favor of the Syrian army, who was on the defense more than the offense before the Russian intervention."
He said the Syrian army has recently reached close to the rebel-held town of Salma in the countryside of Latakia, adding that the military push toward Salma was extremely difficult before the Russian air support due to the rugged nature of the terrain there.
"Now Salma is exposed to the fire of the Syrian army thanks to the Russian intervention," he said.
Maher Ihsan, another political expert, said that after the Russian airstrikes, the Syrian army has unleashed offensives on several fronts, adding that the military advancement is one of the positive outcome of the Russian strikes.
On the popular level, the Russian strikes left a feeling of relief among the supporters of President Bashar al-Assad, contributing the recent progress of the Syrian army to the Russian support.
Tens of Syrians gathered Tuesday in front of the Russian embassy, holding Russian and Syrian flags as well as posters of President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The pro-Russia demonstration was interrupted when rebels' mortar rounds struck the compound of the Russian embassy.
The attack left no causalities, but the rebels have repeatedly targeted the Russian embassy with mortars as part of the response to the Russian support for the Syrian regime.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday the Russian warplanes carried out 88 airstrikes, targeting 86 positions of the Islamic State (IS) group over the past 24 hours in Syria.
