Special to WorldTribune.com

Russia is preparing a second military base in Syria to support troops advancing on the historic city of Palmyra.

An Assad-regime military airport at Shaayrat in central Syria will serve as Moscow’s new base for its warplanes, a military source said on Dec. 3.

“The preparation phase for the Shaayrat base is nearing its end. It is being prepared to become a Russian military base,” the military source who declined to be named told AFP.

“A number of Russian advisers arrived in Shaayrat weeks ago,” the source said. The base “will begin being used by Russian forces before the end of this month.”

Russian Su-34, Su-24, Su-30 and Su-25 planes have operated out of Hmeimim base in the coastal province of Latakia since air strikes began on Sept. 30.

The base in Shaayrat will allow Russian planes to provide support as Syrian troops close in on Palmyra, which is about 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Shaayrat. Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) has held Palmyra since May.

According to Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Russia was “building new runways at the Shaayrat airport and reinforcing its surroundings in order to use it soon for operations” in Homs province.

“Syrian regime forces are about three kilometers (less than two miles) from Palmyra and are advancing from the south and west with air cover by Russian helicopters,” Rahman said.

The military source told AFP that troops backing Syrian President Bashar Assad are also closing in on the town of Al-Qaryatain, a mixed Christian-Muslim village in Homs province that ISIL seized in August.

Russian and Syrian warplanes launched at least 40 strikes in and around Al-Qaryatain in the past 24 hours, the source said, adding there would be “an important advance” within 72 hours.

  Palmyra, Russia establishes second military base in Syria, Shaayrat base, WorldTribune.com