Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s government “maintains the military advantage -- particularly in firepower and air superiority,” and his inner circle “appears to be largely cohesive”.

Defense Intelligence Agency Director Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn said, in a testimony prepared for delivery later today to the Senate Armed Services Committee, that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s government “maintains the military advantage -- particularly in firepower and air superiority,” and his inner circle “appears to be largely cohesive”.

In a report published on Bloomberg news agency Thursday, Flynn added that “no opposition group has been able to unite the diverse groups behind a strategy for replacing the regime.”

Moreover, Flynn indicated that “Syria’s arsenal of conventional missiles is mobile and can reach much of Israel and large portions of Iraq, Jordan and Turkey from sites well within the country.”

He added that “Russia had sold Syria a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile called the Yakhont, a weapon with a range of 300 kilometers that poses a major threat to naval operations, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean.”