No Iranian forces currently present in Syria: Report
Ahmad Naderi, a member of the presiding board of the Iranian parliament, has told the semiofficial ISNA news agency about the outcome of a closed-door meeting at the presence of IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami.
In comments verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, Sanad, Naderi said the parliament was informed that there were currently no Iranian forces present in Syria. Forces were present in Syria until the last moments preceding the fall of al-Assad’s government, but they were later withdrawn, he said.
Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC which leads the axis of resistance, was absent in the meeting.
Syria monitor says 54 fleeing soldiers killed
A Syria war monitor says ISIL-affiliated (ISIS) fighters killed 54 government soldiers who were fleeing in the central province of Homs as fighters pressed an offensive.
The fighters captured “personnel fleeing military service in the desert … during the collapse of the regime” of al-Assad and “executed 54” of them in the Sukhna area in the Homs desert, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Satellite images show Russian warships left Tartous
Satellite imagery shows that Russian naval ships have left Moscow’s base at Tartous on Syria’s coast, and some have dropped anchor offshore following the overthrow al-Assad.
An image taken on December 9 by Planet Labs showed at least three vessels in Russia’s Mediterranean fleet, including two guided missile frigates and an oiler, moored about 13km (eight miles) northwest of Tartous. The rest of the fleet could not be immediately located in satellite imagery.
In Moscow, Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
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