The missiles were part of the twenty-six long-range missiles Russian Federation launched on Wednesday.
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The USA has been leading a separate air campaign against Islamic State targets for a year, and the arrival of Russian war planes last week means the Cold War superpower foes are now flying combat missions in the same air space for the first time since World War Two. The missiles passed through Iraq and Iran on their way to their targets.
The change, which has not yet been officially announced, reflects the failure of the current approach, which has produced only a handful of combat-ready moderate rebels and drawn widespread criticism in Congress.
But the United States and other players have questioned Russia’s targets, suggesting they were not primarily aimed at ISIS but the Syrian opposition in a bid to strengthen the Syrian government’s position. In previous updates Russian Federation has reported hitting 10 targets daily.
Syrian troops and allied militia backed by a fresh wave of Russian air strikes and cruise missiles fired from warships attacked rebel forces and hope to recapture a major territory in the west of the country.
Despite the denials, the increasing military activity of Russian Federation in the region intensified concerns on mishaps that may fan the flames of the conflict.
The Pentagon said on Friday it expected to hold new talks with Russia’s military on pilot safety in Syria’s war as soon as this weekend, as the former Cold War foes seek to avoid an accidental clash as they carry out rival bombing campaigns.
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Russian Federation will suffer the consequences of the situation.
Assad hails from Syria’s Alawite religious minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. He said Turkish airspace was violated by Russian aircraft, which also came close to a USA drone.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the fighting on the ground, said there had been no significant advances by government forces backed by allied militia in areas where ground offensives were launched this week.
Carter said the situation is a “fundamental strategic mistake” that will provoke and extend the civil war in Syria.
Carter has made it clear that the U.S.-led coalition will not agree to cooperate with Russian Federation in the fight against the Islamic State and no collaboration is possible as long as Moscow continues to strike other targets.
The armed forces of Syria appeared to have been motivated by the increased presence of Russian Federation in the country. However, the chief of staff of Syria said new fighting units were created for the offensive.
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Hamadani was killed Thursday night in Aleppo countryside by a group of Islamic State militants.
