Russian advisors are embedded in the ranks.

“On Wednesday morning, the Republican Guard – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) and the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) – recaptured the strategic hills surrounding the Dhahiyat Al-Assad, securing the aforementioned Damascene suburb after a series of intense firefights with the Islamist rebel fighters of Jaysh Al-Islam.”

http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-recaptures-large-parts-of-the-harasta-industrial-area/