Putin hit back at the West, criticising Washington for refusing to share intelligence with Russian Federation on Syria and accusing it of muddled thinking.
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Non-Islamist opposition factions say they are using the US-made TOW missiles to halt a Syrian army advance that is backed by Russian air strikes in the provinces of Hama and Idlib.
“Then we thought again and asked another question: then tell us where we should not strike. I did not make this up”.
“Our task is to stabilize the legitimate government and to create conditions for a political compromise…by military means, of course”, Putin told the state-run Russian Federation 24 TV, according to CNN. Nursa Front leader Abu Muhammad has also called for a unifying jihad against Russia, urging the various terror factions of the region to cease infighting in order for focus of removing the Russian presence in the Middle East.
The developments came a day after US-led coalition forces air-dropped ammunition to the Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC) battling jihadists near the Islamic State group’s northern stronghold of Raqa.
“The recent Russian military attacks… are of deep concern and must cease immediately”, ministers said in a strongly worded statement. “And if they kill from our soldiers, kill from theirs”.
Russian Federation has said its raids are targeting Al-Nusra’s jihadist rival IS and other “terrorist” groups.
Putin insisted his airstrikes are legal and more effective than those by the U.S.-led coalition.
“Thus far, we believe that they’ve pursued a strategy that it actually undermines the effective pursuit of that goal, but we would welcome a change in their strategy to more effectively accomplish the goal that they have claimed to have set out for themselves”, he said.
Fierce fighting in the key Hama village of Kafr Nabuda forced pro-regime forces to retreat and killed 25 of them, the Observatory said.
MOSCOW (AP) – Russian security officials released new details Tuesday about a group suspected of planning a terror attack in Moscow with support from the Islamic State group, saying it was comprised of 12 Russian citizens, including at least one who had been trained in Syria.
As people ran away from the event, carrying posters of Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad and signs that read “Thanks Russia” and “Syria and Russian Federation are together to fight terrorism”, another shell hit a few dozen yards away from the compound.
Russia’s Interfax news agency said two rockets landed in the embassy grounds.
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There was widespread panic, but it was not immediately clear if anyone had been wounded or killed. On Tuesday insurgents fired two shells at the Russian embassy in the Syrian capital.
