The Military Operations Department in Syria continues its security campaign against groups, officers and former members of the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad in the cities of Homs, Tartous, Hama and Aleppo, and said that it was able to arrest a number of prominent figures accused of involvement in war crimes against humanity and sectarian incitement.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry commented on Wednesday on Russian accusations that Kiev provided support to Syrian opposition factions that took control of the city of Aleppo after the start of an ongoing military operation against the Syrian regime allied with Moscow.

The London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper reported, citing sources it described as “informed,” that Brigadier General Javad Ghaffari (one of the senior leaders of Iranian military advisors) has been in Syria for four days and is currently leading the counterattack against the attack of the fighting factions in Syria in the areas of confrontations.

Since 2013, the opposition factions in Syria can no longer be described as “lightly armed.” Many have acquired heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft missiles, mortars, and rifles of various types, as well as tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, most of which have been acquired from government stockpiles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, during a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that he wants a "quick" end to the operation launched by Syrian opposition factions last Wednesday in northwestern Syria.

Seven days have passed since the launch of the military operation "Deterring Aggression", which was announced by the Syrian opposition factions against the areas controlled by the Syrian regime army, but its rapid results, the area of land it controlled, and the accompanying collapse of the forces allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, all constituted a surprise on more than one level.