The Syrian ground push got a boost after Russian warships launched cruise missiles into Syria from the Caspian Sea on Wednesday, bringing new military might into the almost five-year civil war.
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It is not clear if there were any Iranian casualties from the bombing.
Russian Federation says its intervention, which it is coordinating with Iraq, Iran and the Syrian government, is aimed at helping the latter defeat the Islamic State terrorist organization, but USA officials and people on the ground say the strikes have also targeted Western-backed rebels.
To coincide with the airstrikes, Syrian government troops and allied militia today launched an offensive against rebels in the Ghab Plain in western Syria, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has therefore ordered the Pentagon “to provide equipment packages and weapons to a select group of vetted leaders and their units so that over time they can make a concerted push into territory still controlled by ISIL (IS)”, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said.
A fighter from the Ajnad al-Sham insurgent group who uses the name Abu al-Baraa al-Hamawi told Reuters that Russian jets had been bombing since dawn. Speaking to journalists while en route from Brussels to Tokyo, Erdogan warned that Ankara could look elsewhere for gas supplies and cancel the construction of its first nuclear power plant, which is being built by Russian Federation.
The U.S., which opposes Russia’s backing of Syrian President Assad, has ruled out any military cooperation with Moscow in Syria.
Dutch Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said that in Syria, “Russia is not constructive, not reliable and not cooperative – so it is of great concern”.
Neighbouring Turkey has been angered by violations of its air space by Russian warplanes and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation said it was prepared to send troops to Turkey to defend its ally. The state run SANA news agency said joint Syrian-Russian airstrikes hit 27 targets belonging to Nusra Front.
“NATO is ready and able to defend all allies, including Turkey against any threats”, NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters as he arrived for the meeting. Earlier on Thursday, reports detailed just how assiduously Iran had lobbied Russian Federation to begin its controversial airstrike campaign in Syria.
“They [US intelligence] saw a few of this going on but didn’t appreciate the magnitude”, one source said. Russian Federation supplies 60 per cent of Turkey’s gas needs.
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Mr McFaul, who took the view that the Obama administration had been largely on top of the situation as President Putin prepared his offensive, said that a faster or more precise intelligence assessment would probably have done little to change the outcome.
