The Islamic East Turkestan Movement is estimated to have 2,500 soldiers operating in Syria under Syria’s al-Qaida affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
China will send members of its elite special forces to Syria to assist in counter-terror operations in Damascus countryside to fight the Islamic East Turkestan Movement, a Chinese terrorist group largely comprised of Uyghur separatists.
The announcement was made by the Hmeimim Russian Military Base on the base’s official Facebook page, like reported by telesurtv.net.
Two divisions of the Special Operations Forces, the “Tigers of Siberia” and the “Night Tigers”, will assist Syrian army forces in their military operations to combat the Chinese jihadist group that has committed hundreds of terrorist attacks within China.
Estimates suggest that there could be around 2,500 of the foreign fighters in Syria aiding and assisting other jihadist elements within the war-torn Levantine country.
While China has traditionally stayed out of the Syrian conflict directly, the Asian country has intervened to combat the spread of the Islamic East Turkestan terrorist network that has opportunistically found its way to not only Syria, but Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The group has deep ties to the international al-Qaida network and fights under their regional affiliates.
In October 2012, Chinese major general Jin Yinan stated that the Chinese-based jihadist group had established a presence in Syria to help its fighters gain experience and to gain an international following for its cause in China.
Fighting in a Damascus suburb, East Ghouta, a bastion for forces hostile to the Syrian government, has seen less violence as Russian-brokered ceasefire has been implemented.
With the deal, aid convoys were allowed to enter in the Damascus suburb.
This ceasefire was implemented ahead of the latest of the Geneva peace talks which seek to reach a political solution for the brutal conflict that has lasted nearly 7 years.
Reconciliation efforts in Damascus countryside have seen moderate success, especially in areas like Wadi Barada, where thousands of civilian residents and Syrian militants have had their legal status reinstated.
However, foreign militants, and others associated with the al-Qaida affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, have rejected all attempts at reconciliation opting instead for military confrontation.
