The US and Russian Federation put into practice new rules on Tuesday created to minimize the risk of air collisions between military aircraft over Syria.
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“Today Russian pilots carried out a surgical strike against the object”.
The United States has been critical of Russia’s airstrikes, saying they are aimed at bolstering the regime of Bashar Assad and not at defeating the Islamic State.
The Prime Minister of Russia rubbished such claims and retaliated by branding the United States “short-sighted and weak” – just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted America’s “unconstructive” stance toward beating the terror group.
Dunford traveled to Iraq on Tuesday in the last segment of a five-day trip, which also included stops in Israel and Jordan.
U.S. strategy in Iraq and in Syria hinges on supporting local ground forces, backed by US-led coalition airstrikes, to recapture ground from Islamic State, which has swept through northern Iraq and in May captured the city of Ramadi.
Muen al-Kadhimi, a senior aide to the leader of the Badr Brigade militia, said Russian Federation had proven more decisive in its air campaign in Syria than the Americans so it was only natural to seek Moscow’s help in Iraq.
In short, this would simply be a sequel to the Russian-Iranian military operation in Syria and the logistics are already in place as Irans militias have been battling Sunni extremists in Iraq for years alongside the Iraqi regulars.
Davis said they believed incorrectly that none of the charity’s personnel were present.
However, Baghdad has become frustrated with the lack of progress it has made under US guidance since Saddam Hussein’s authoritarian government was toppled in 2003 and since ISIS began grabbing large swathes of the country more than a year ago, noted Rubaie.
Antonov added that the memorandum “shows a big potential for cooperation between Russian Federation and the USA, including in the fight against terrorism, which we are ready to expand and deepen”.
And he said he is asking his top advisers and commanders to come up with recommendations on how the U.S.-led coalition can motivate the Iraqi forces, seize the opportunities presented by the recent successes in Beiji and Ramadi, and pick up the pace of operations.
High-level USA officials, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, usually go to Baghdad first on their visits to the region as a sign of support for a unified Iraqi government.
“A key part of our report going back is that both the prime minister and the defense minister said that they recognize that the partnership and the relationship” with the U.S.-led coalition was the critical relationship they needed in order to deal with a common threat.
Iraq last month raised concerns further when it said it reached an agreement with Russian Federation, Iran and Syria to share intelligence in the fight against Islamic State militants.
Dunford is also likely to talk to Iraqis about the volatile situation in Beiji.
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Baldor reported from Baghdad.
