U.S.: Russia building military in Syria

The U.S says that Russia is continuing its military buildup in Syria. Aerial imagery shows Russia two tank-landing ships have recently arrived at Tartus and about a dozen Russian armored personnel carriers are now at the Bassel al-Assad airport, named after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s older brother. An Antonov-124 Condor military transporter had flown into the airport, bringing the total number of transport flights to at least four in recent days. Despite the buildup of military equipment, officials noted there was no immediate indication Russia had sent in any ordnance or heavy weaponry. A US military official says “under 50” Russian troops had arrived in Syria in recent days. The Russian naval infantry that are already in Syria say their mission is to protect their military hardware rather joining the war. U.S official:

There’s not consensus in the intelligence community about what it means. You have to take what Russia says with a grain of salt because they haven’t always been transparent and honest about their intentions.