Al Qaeda Linked Militants Deploy Commandeered T-90 Tanks Against Syrian Army in Idlib

Footage from the ongoing campaign in Syria’s northern province of Idlib has shown Al Qaeda linked jihadist militants to be operating at least one T-90 battle tank - the most advanced class of Russian tank to have been exported. The tank is thought to have been captured from the Syrian Arab Army, which in late January launched a major counteroffensive against militant positions in response to bombardment of population centres including the second city of Aleppo. While the bulk of Syria’s armoured units rely on the ageing T-55 tank with approximately 2000 in service, many of which have been modernised by North Korean technicians to field laser rangefinders, improved communications and superior armour, the more capable T-90 was first seen in Syrian service in 2015 at around the time of the Russian military intervention. The tank bears considerable similarities to the older T-72 which Syria has considerable experience operating in combat, and the newer platform is operated in considerable numbers by the Army’s elite Tiger Forces - which are currently playing a leading role in the assault on Idlib.

Idlib has been referred to in U.S. reports las the largest Al Qaeda safe haven since 2001, and militants based there have continued to receive considerable support from Turkish forces. The fact that the T-90 has fallen into the hands of jihadist militants - ones receiving massive support from a NATO member state - risks the design falling into Turkish hands and potentially being subsequently being passed onto other NATO countries for testing. NATO has shown considerable interest in acquiring Russian tank designs both during and since the Cold War, and with the T-90 being a post Soviet design the intelligence which could be gained on the platform could be highly valuable. T-90 tanks exported to Syria, and that currently in the militants’ hands, are of the T-90A variant - a design which first entered service in 2004. The tank uses the same basic frame as more modern variants such as the T-90MS and the latest T-90M, although it lacks many of their advanced technologies.