Robert Fisk: Syrian Army confronts mercenaries in Aleppo

The British Journalist, Robert Fisk, said the Syrian army is confronting fighters of mercenary foreigners in Aleppo.

In an article published by The Independent newspaper on Thursday, Fisk said that most of the mercenary fighters' weapons which were taken by the Syrian army included Nato-standard sniper rifles, mortars, eight Austrian machine-pistols and a host of Kalashnikovs.

Fisk quoted a Syrian army officer as saying that he did not believe it when one of the prisoners told him: "I didn't realize Palestine was as beautiful as this.''' He thought he was in Palestine to fight the Israelis.

He described the bombs and bullets that littered Sharaf mosque, indicating to the Syrian soldiers' immense sadness for the damage caused to the old city.

Fisk described the fighters who made their way to the old streets in Aleppo as a ''ragtag bunch'', expressing sorrow for the scenes of destruction and the damage done to the building and streets of the old city due to the battles fought by the foreigners against the Syrian army.

Fisk added that these gangs realized that success cannot be attained in Aleppo, that's why they brought foreigners to fight, quoting a soldier in the Syrian army as saying "If the enemy is so sure that they are going to win the battle, then surely there's no need to bring these foreigners to participate; they will lose."