Even before the world comes to terms with Russia's entry into the Syrian War theater, President Vladimir Putin has pulled another one, this time by signing a decree that will see the country's military draft 150,000 conscripts, The Daily Mail reported. The timing of this move could further fuel suspicion that Moscow is prepared to get itself into a prolonged offensive in Syria, if that's what it will take to prevent the collapse of the Assad regime.
This new decree that will see around 150,000 conscripts get enlisted to serve in the military came the same day when it emerged that the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, who's a trusted ally of Putin, had suggested that Moscow should deploy Muslim soldiers to fight against the Islamic State in Syria. "I'm convinced that not only airborne should be used there, but also infantry, because the faster we finish off ISIS, the more peacefully we'll live across the territory of global community," said Kadyrov.
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, was quick to downplay these latest developments, saying that the signing of this new drafting decree by Putin doesn't have anything to do with the war in Syria, according to Sputnik news. "This... is a regular document which the president signs twice a year. It is not related to Syria in any way, of course, this situation does not concern the draftees in any way," Peskov said.
Earlier, the BBC reported that a rebel leader of a group trained by the CIA confirmed that Russian jets had earlier attacked their positions and went on to say that the areas hit did not have any Islamic State fighters. He further said that former Syrian air force pilots who defected to his rebel group clearly identified the Russian jets
