Secretary of State John Kerry said the USA would have “grave concerns should Russian Federation strike” areas where ISIS wasn’t operating.
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Russian Federation on Wednesday carried out its first airstrikes in Syria in what President Vladimir Putin called a preemptive strike against the militants. “I’m convinced that not only airborne should be used there, but also infantry, because the faster we finish off ISIS, the more peacefully we’ll live across the territory of global community”, said Kadyrov.
Just hours after the Russian parliament waved through military intervention in Syria, its first air strikes in the civil war-torn Middle Eastern country were confirmed Wednesday night.
The region is of vital strategic importance to the Assad regime’s control of western Syria, linking the capital in Damascus to the coastal area including Latakia and Tartous, where Russian Federation operates a naval facility. Moscow is a long-standing ally of the Assad family, with Washington tired that Putin is using the cover of attacks on the Islamic State as a pretext for hitting the president’s opponents.
Warplanes hit locations of a U.S.-backed rebel group, Tajamu Alezzah, in the central province of Hama, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“These organizations (on the target list) are well-known, and the targets are chosen in coordination with the armed forces of Syria”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, when asked if Russian Federation and the West had different views on what constituted a “terrorist” group.
At a news conference Thursday, Lavrov said that the U.S.-led coalition said its targets are Islamic State militants, the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front and other terrorists.
Abadi added that airstrikes had not yet been discussed between the two countries, although he had been receiving “massive information” from both Syria and Russian Federation about the Islamic State.
Russia’s defense minister claimed overnight strikes targeted ISIS positions and were “strictly avoiding populated areas”, the Telegraph reported.
All of this is a concerted effort to further Russian interests, including strengthening ties with its allies and bolstering support at home, he said.
Ali said his fighters had attended several trainings in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
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Iraq’s military joint operations command said on September 27 its military officials were cooperating on intelligence and security in Baghdad with Russian Federation, Iran and Syria to counter the threat from Islamic State.
