“The Syrian army in its latest operations is working on cutting off the southern parts of Idlib province from the northern parts of Hama province”, a military source in Hama told AFP.
Advertisement
More than 90 percent of Russian airstrikes inside Syria have hit opposition forces and not Daesh or al-Qaeda-affiliated targets, a US official said Wednesday. However, Western officials have argued that the strikes are instead meant to attack forces that are fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a few of whom are backed by the U.S.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a government offensive began on four fronts Wednesday in the northwestern provinces of Idlib and neighboring Hama.
Russia’s intervention in the Middle East, including a new security and intelligence-sharing agreement with Iran, Iraq and Syria, has raised concerns in Washington that its former Cold War enemy is gaining clout in the oil-producing region.
Earlier on Wednesday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed that four Russian destroyers had launched 26 Kalibr-class sea-based cruise missiles at 11 targets.
Meanwhile, Syrian army forces have launched a ground operation in the country’s west, reports say.
The United States will not cooperate militarily with Russian Federation in Syria because Moscow’s strategy is “tragically flawed”, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday, in his strongest comments yet on the issue.
It’s also, as we’ve said before, we believe a mistake for Russian Federation, because not only are they going to be exacerbating sectarian tensions there in Syria, but they’re potentially exacerbating sectarian tensions in Russian Federation itself.
“The Russian Defense Ministry has answered the demands of the Pentagon and is examining in depth American proposals on coordinating operations carried out… against the terrorist group Islamic State on Syrian territory”, Russian news agencies quoted Moscow’s defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying.
“What we will do is continue basic, technical discussions on professional safety procedures for our pilots flying [over] Syria”.
As the attacks on ISIS escalate, the USA has continued to refuse to assist Russian Federation in the attacks, citing that numerous targets hit during the bombings are allied with the US and are not ISIS.
Advertisement
Pentagon officials later revealed they had had to carry out at least one “safe separation” manoeuvre to avoid a United States jet coming too close to a Russian aircraft over Syria.
