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Iraq starts bombing IS with help from intelligence center that includes Russia

Washington has indicated that equipment beneficiaries might include Arab groups that cooperate with the Kurdish militia organization YPG, Reuters reported. He did not identify the Arab groups that received the supplies but said their leaders had been vetted and have been fighting to remove ISIL from northern Syria.

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The proposed U.S. strategy would also bolster a group of mostly Arab fighters west of the Euphrates to clear out Islamic State along a pocket of terrain along the border with Turkey.

The source said he was citing positions outlined by Defence Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir during meetings with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The Saudis urged Russian Federation to help fight terrorism in Syria by joining the existing coalition comprising more than 20 nations that is battling Islamic State militants, the source said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a U.S. official said the drop included 50 tonnes of ammunition.

They were unable to agree on whether Assad should have any role in ending the crisis but they did decide to extend sanctions by essentially freezing the assets of the spouses of senior Syrian figures.

Russia was also involved in anti-IS operations closer to home, it said on Monday, with the arrest of a group of Russian citizens in Moscow.The FSB security agency said in a statement that a few of those detained had gone through IS training camps in Syria and were suspected of planning an attack on Russian soil.

The war has taken 250,000 lives and caused a refugee crisis in neighbouring countries and Europe.

Russia’s air strikes in Syria began on September 30, with Moscow saying it was targeting ISIL and other “terrorists”.

“We are not foreigners who can easily leave”, he added, contrasting his unit to the Nusra Front and the Islamic State, which have attracted foreign fighters.

On Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama told CBS television’s 60 Minutes that Russia’s intervention in Syria is aimed at saving Assad’s government. Hezbollah and Iran have forces on the ground, while a Western-led coalition and Russian Federation are carrying out air strikes.

On Tuesday, insurgents in Syria fired two shells at the Russian embassy in Damascus.

The Syrian army announced the capture of Kafr Nabuda and four other villages in Hama province. Activists say rebels seized one village south of Idlib.

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The envoy has refused to reveal their proposed makeup, but said Russian Federation and the United States would account for the “nucleus core” of the outside contact group. The Observatory and Bali said the aim of the coalition in the future will be to march toward the northern city of Raqqa which is the Islamic State’s declared capital.

EU nations criticize Russia's military moves in Syria