(Ahrar al-Sham Twitter page via AP).
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But while the group has been the target of a few of its air strikes, it has no foothold in the areas of western Syria targeted in the attacks on Wednesday and Today.
The move marks the first coordinated assault since Russia began its military campaign in Syria on September 30 and marks a distinct escalation in Russian involvement in the Syrian conflict, The New York Times reported. He asked that Russian Federation also respect Turkey’s security concerns over neighbouring Syria.
Ships from the Caspian Sea fleet launched 26 cruise missile strikes against 11 targets on Wednesday, Moscow said. ISIS is not present in the areas where the fighting is underway.
On Monday, a top Russian lawmaker said “a unit of Russian volunteers” may join Syrian government troops fighting Islamic State extremists on the ground.
U.S Defence Secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday that the United States would not cooperate militarily with Russian Federation in Syria, although it was willing to hold discussions to secure the safety of its own pilots bombing Islamic State targets in Syria. The group, relying on witnesses and video, said the strikes hit predominantly civilian areas in three villages and towns, including homes and a bread distribution center. Uncredited/AP Russian officials said they struck the Aleppo and Raqqa provinces where murderous Islamic State militants maintain strongholds, and the Idlib province where the Al Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front is strong.
The missiles would have passed over Iran and Iraq to reach their targets, covering what Shoigu described as a distance of nearly 1,500 km (900 miles), the latest display of Russian military power at a time when relations with the West are at a post-Cold War low over Ukraine.
Firing… A Russian navy ship launches a cruise missile in the Caspian Sea.
More than a week after it began launching airstrikes in Syria, Russian Federation seems to be reasserting itself as a superpower.
Assad’s armed forces “have launched wide-ranging attacks to deal with the terrorist groups, and to liberate the areas which had suffered from the terrorist rule and crimes”, Syria’s army Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayoub, was quoted as saying by state media.
Hezbollah television, which supports Assad and his government, has also said that ground troops have launched an offensive under Russian air cover, although it is unclear whether the naval strikes were supportive of the new drive.
Carter spoke at a press conference in London with British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon.
But Russian officials deny ramping up military activity. Iran has been bolstering Assad by sending weapons and advisers, and helping arrange the deployment of Shiite fighters from Iraq and Hezbollah, as well as sending financial aid.
The new measures agreed upon Thursday include finalized plans, including command and control arrangements, for a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Response Force of up to 40,000 – twice the current size – and creation of new North Atlantic Treaty Organisation headquarters offices in Hungary and Slovakia to enhance those Eastern European nations’ defenses and speed reinforcement by their allies in the event of a real or perceived threat from Russian Federation.
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Syrian activists said government troops pushed Thursday into rural parts of Latakia province.
