Saudi Arabia Ready to Send Troops to Syria to Fight ISIS

Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri said the kingdom was willing to participate in such efforts “because we believe that aerial operations are not the ideal solution, and there must be a twin mix of aerial and ground operations”.

Saudi Arabia has offered to deploy thousands of special forces in Syria to combat ISIS, according to The Guardian.

He says that Russia’s role won’t end until the defeat of the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and other groups tied to al-Qaida, which is in accordance with United Nations resolutions.

 Many analysts have seen Syria and Yemen as battlegrounds of a Cold War between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

“Whether Saudis or Turkish, all those who will practice aggression on Syria will be sent back in wooden coffins”.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, both said this week they were ready to participate in any ground operations in Syria if the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq decides to start such operations.

“We know that airstrikes can not be enough and that a ground operation is needed”, Brig.

The Iranian commander added that Iran will not change its policies regarding Syria, saying, “Our policies to support Syria’s political system are logical and based on common interests and such backing will continue at political and military levels”.

The Saudi-backed opposition umbrella group, the High Negotiations Committee, says it will not return to peace talks which recently collapsed in Geneva unless its humanitarian demands are met.

The head of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that Riyadh lacked the courage to make such a move and that if they did go ahead their forces would be destroyed.

Lawrence Korb, a former U.S. assistant secretary of defence, said while Middle East countries have armed and supplied rebels during the five-year Syrian civil war, putting boots on the ground would mark a major shift.

The opposition said there was no point negotiating while pro-government troops backed by Russian air strikes escalated attacks and gained ground north of Aleppo, once Syria’s largest city.

Saudi Arabia may not support IS, but it has helped other rebel groups that espouse similar values.

He called on rebel fighters to “come to their senses” and lay down their weapons. “They did not come to have dialogue, they did not have such orders, ” he said.

Speaking of terrorism, the minister revealed that the Syrian government has intelligence cooperation with some Western countries, except Britain and France.