“In contrast to CNN we do not refer to anonymous sources but we show the path of our missiles and their targets practically in real time”, Konashenkov said.
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Over 90 percent of airstrikes by Russian Federation in Syria since the last one week have not been targeted at the Islamic State, or IS, or groups with links to the Al Qaeda, the U.S. said.
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in Rome yesterday called Russia’s approach to Syria “tragically flawed” and took pains to say that USA forces would not cooperate with Russian forces as long as Moscow hits targets other than IS.
Moscow said on Wednesday its warships fired a barrage of missiles at Syrian targets from the Caspian Sea, passing a distance of nearly 1,500 km (900 miles) over Iran and Iraq to reach their targets.
Backed by allied militia and Russian air cover, regime troops have retaken around a dozen villages in Hama, according to Syrian daily Al-Watan, which is close to the government. Three unnamed USA military officials claimed on Thursday that a few of the cruise missiles landed in Iran.
For about a year before Russian Federation joined the fighting, a U.S.-led coalition has been mounting air strikes of its own meant to defeat Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
“The Syrian Arab armed forces began a wide-ranging attack with the aim of eliminating terrorist groups and liberating the areas and towns that suffered from their scourge and crimes,” he said in a rare television appearance.
The missiles were launched from Russian ships in the Caspian Sea.
Russian Federation has so far refused to make a distinction between the Army of Conquest and the Islamic State, labeling both groups as terrorists.
The news broke as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation said it was “ready and able to defend all allies” following Turkey expressing anger over violations of its air space by Russian warplanes.
“There is a considerable and growing Russian Federation naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, more than 10 ships now, which is a bit out of the ordinary”, Douglas Lute told reporters ahead of a meeting of alliance defence ministers in Brussels.
Activist Ahmad al-Ahmad, who is in Idlib, said government troops “heavily” shelled central areas after rebels attacked an army post and destroyed a tank.
The aid group, known by its French language acronym MSF, says it above all wants to ensure respect for global humanitarian law after the most deadly airstrike in its history. Russian Federation hopes to shore up ally Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The Russian government insists it is only striking extremists but the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said attacks by Vladimir Putin’s air force killed at least seven civilians in Idlib on Wednesday.
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Opposition fighters hit back – including with what appear to be American-made TOW anti-tank missiles.
