Russian jets carried out air strikes on areas in western Syria on Saturday and an Islamic State stronghold in the north was rocked by a large explosion, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
Advertisement
The Russian air strikes had “weakened” IS, Syrian Army Chief of Staff Gen Ali Abdullah Ayoub said on Thursday, enabling the army to start a “big attack” to retake towns and villages.
The Russian bombing campaign appears to have weakened these groups, and given IS the opportunity to push forward, he adds. The British are part of the coalition striking Islamic State fighters in Iraq, but are not conducting strikes in Syria.
Washington said it was pulling the plug on a short-lived $580 million program to train and equip units of fighters at sites outside of Syria, after its disastrous launch this year fanned criticism of President Barack Obama’s war strategy. Future training will be greatly scaled back, with the apparent USA focus on providing weaponry.
Russian officials said 26 cruise missiles were launched at 11 Islamic State targets, which officials said were destroyed without causing any civilian casualties.
The USA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the missiles landed in Iran on Wednesday, confirming a story first reported by CNN. Kerry voiced concern that the “preponderance of targets” being struck by Russian military forces in Syria aren’t related to the Islamic State.
US officials said they believed four Russian cruise missiles bound for Syria had crashed en route in Iran.
The ISIL offensive has brought the group closer than ever to Aleppo, threatening to further complicate the situation in Syria’s second city which has always been divided between government and rebel control.
Iran is one of Assad’s main allies.
Russia’s sudden decision to join the war with air strikes on behalf of Mr Assad, as well as the increased military involvement of Iran, could mark a pivotal turning point in a conflict that has drawn in most of the world’s military powers. The announcement comes amidst claims hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to support the Syrian army.
Advertisement
“Iranian news agency Tasnim said Hamedani was functioning in Syria in “an advisory capacity” when he was killed by “[infidel] terrorists” – a euphemism for radical Sunni militants. He was a veteran commander who had an important role in Iran’s 1980-88 war with Iraq. Now, however, Iranian officials praise their officers for assisting and advising Syrian regime forces.
