Besides, the fight against extremism and terrorism were tackled in a broader context, he said. He said they included command and control centres, weapons depots and training bases, located in the Syrian provinces of Raqqa, Hama, Damascus and Aleppo.
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Both countries are allied in their aims to bolster the regime of President Bashar al Assad and to defeat the Islamic State.
In the latest assaults, the Observatoryreported, Russian warplanes on Saturday bombed a headquarters of the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham rebel group in Saraqeb, in Idlib province.
Syria’s military backed by allied militias including Iranian-backed Hezbollah on the ground and Russian Federation in the air launched a major attack last week in Syria’s west to recapture land lost to insurgents near the coastal heartland of Assad’s minority Alawite sect. These erstwhile cold war foes are busy finding out ways to avoid a clash while they carry out bombings on their common enemy.
“This offensive is meant to confront the rebels in the Sahl al-Ghab plain that is at the intersection of Hama, Latakia and Idlib provinces”, said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
“Department leaders are reviewing the Russian response and talks are likely to take place as soon as this weekend,” he said according to the Guardian. The group said the rebels shelled government troops in the newly seized villages.
Moscow accuses Washington of effectively siding with other militants that are no different from Islamic State; Washington says the Russian campaign helps Islamic State by targeting its rivals.
The Russian defense ministry said in a statement that Russian planes flew 64 sorties and targeted 54 sites in the past 24 hours, without elaborating.
“It’s disturbing that yet another type of cluster munition is being used in Syria given the harm they cause to civilians for years to come”, said Nadim Houry, HRW’s deputy Middle East director.
On Friday, the Pentagon said it would resume talks with Moscow to prevent potential military accidents in the Syrian airspace.
In the northern province of Aleppo, meanwhile, rebels battled to reverse an advance by the Islamic State group that brought the extremists to within a few kilometres of Syria’s second city.
I am not downplaying the difficulties.
In his biggest effort yet to reach out to Assad’s Arab foes, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who holds a senior post in the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates. After Russian bombing, the jihadis captured six villages near Aleppo, according to reports.
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“An end to this war is in everybody’s enlightened self-interest”.
