Cuban ground forces have reportedly joined Russia's anti-ISIS operations in support of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies said.
The institute, in its report, said the head of the Cuban Armed Forces, Gen. Leopoldo Cintra Frias, recently travelled to the war-torn country as part of the deployment, according to Washington Times.
"He is leading a group of Cuban military personnel...in support of Syria's dictator Assad, in Cold War fashion, the Russian contingent," the Institute said, according to PanAm Post.
"If this information about the presence of Cuban troops in Syria now is confirmed, it would indicate that General Raul Castro is more interested in supporting his allies, Russia and Syria, than in continuing to normalize relations with the U.S.," the report said, according to Fox News.
Russia on Wednesday said that its airplanes have carried out airstrikes on 40 ISIS targets in the last 24 hours.
"From the Hmeimim air base, the crews of Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25SM warplanes carried out 41 sorties against 40 targets of the Islamic State's terrorist infrastructure in Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, Hama and Deir Ezzor," the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement, according to Ibn Live.
The Sunni jihadist group vowed to defeat Russia, calling on Muslims everywhere to launch jihad against it. "Russia will be defeated," ISIS spokesperson Abu Mohamed al-Adnani said in an online broadcast on Tuesday, reported News24. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's key ally, Russia, began its own anti-ISIS air raids on Sept. 30.
