In a surprise attack, the Islamic State group seized a string of villages from rebels in Aleppo province Friday.
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Guard commanders repeatedly have said Iran only has high-level advisers in Syria, denying it has fighters there.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, confirmed the advance. Russian Federation also frequently portrays itself as the sole foreign defender of the Christians that suffer under fire from Islamic State and other jihadis.
A week after Russian Federation surprised the USA and became overtly involved in the Syrian Civil War, senior US lawmakers have begun looking into whether intelligence agencies overlooked or misjudged warning signs of Moscow’s intentions, congressional sources told Reuters.
Russian officials were quoted by the VOA as saying that rockets fired from the ships in the Caspean Sea would have traveled through Iraqi airspace, where the United States is involved an anti-Islamic State operations.
Neither Russian Federation nor Iraq told the United States that missiles had entered Iraqi airspace, the Voice of America reported.
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there had been a “troubling escalation” in Moscow’s air campaign and pledged to “assess the latest developments and their implications for the security of the alliance”.
The U.S.is limiting its discussions with Russia to basic, technical talks about efforts to ensure that flights over Syria are conducted safely and, “That’s it”, he has said, prompting protests from Russian leaders who want broader talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday warned Russian Federation risked losing a deal to build his country’s first nuclear power plant and its status as its main gas supplier, as the diplomatic row intensified.
Russian air force jet fighters have reportedly demolished numerous vehicles, command posts, communication centers, fuel and ammunition depots, plants used for making bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), as well as several training camps, all used by the Daesh Takfiri terrorists.
Syria’s army appeared to regain ground on Thursday, after chief of staff General Ali Abdullah Ayoub announced “a vast offensive to defeat the terrorist groups” and restore control over opposition-held areas. Local media said the helicopter belonged to the Syrian government.
Russian air strikes have been focused on a few of the areas that were captured by rebels.
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The heavy fighting was concentrated in the rural areas of Idlib, Hama and Latakia provinces, where the Army of Conquest, a coalition of rebel groups that includes the Nusra Front, operates.
