MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Morozov called the airstrike "a tremendous success" by the Russian intelligence agencies and the Russian Aerospace Forces as well as Syrian troops.
"We have practically decapitated Daesh," Morozov said, commenting on the airstrike that has resulted in the elimination of four influential field commanders, including Daesh 'war minister' Gulmurod Khalimov, formerly a commander of the Tajik special police units.
Khalimov was a former Tajik special operations colonel, police commander, and military sniper. He was the commander of a police special operations unit in the Ministry of Interior of Tajikistan, or OMON, used against militants in the Central Asian nation.
According to Morozov, Daesh has lost leadership in finance and tactics.
"Daesh units will practically fall apart now, the density of jihadists on Syria's territory will be low, which will allow to 'cut' Deir ez-Zor province into squares, where effective operations are possible from air and on the ground," Morozov said.
The operation to break the siege of Deir ez-Zor, which lies 140 km south east of Raqqa, began after four months of planning and preparation in the wake of the completion of the operation to liberate east Aleppo in January. This operation ended serious rebel activity in western Syria, allowing pro-government forces to turn their attention to the east across the country's desert region into Daesh heartlands.
