Azerbaijan on Tuesday sentenced two men to 14 years in jail for fighting alongside ISIL in Syria and Iraq, authorities in the ex-Soviet republic said.
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A Reuters analysis of defence ministry data last week found that nearly 80 percent of Russia’s declared targets in Syria have been in areas not held by Islamic State. “We’ve already begun to ramp up these deliberate strikes”. Most of it was spent on weapons, equipment and ammunition, which is being maintained in storage by the U.S.-led coalition and remains available for use, the spokesman said.
The USA military will intensify air strikes and may carry out more direct ground attacks as it steps up efforts against Islamic State militants following a failed bid to train Syrian rebels, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told lawmakers on Tuesday.
In Iraq, The Post reports that the United States is considering placing advisers closer to the front line to help better coordinate military operations against ISIS in Ramadi.
“I agree; I think we should have more United States presence in Iraq”, said panel member Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a long-shot candidate for president.
The secretary also addressed the Obama administration’s plan to improve its failed attempts to train and equip moderate Syrian forces to battle ISIS.
A few 70 hostages allegedly held by ISIL were set free following the operation.
Friday’s talks in Vienna are seen as a way to end Syria’s civil war by creating an interim unity government and paving the way for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s exit.
A combination of Iraqi Security Forces, Shiite militias, and Sunni tribesmen have been engaged in trying to take back the city since it fell to the militants in May.
Carter and Dunford both repeatedly said that the USA was supporting moderate forces in Syria in the fight against Islamic State, but not those fighting against Assad.
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Gen Joseph Dunford, the new chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said yesterday the USA would be “more aggressive” with air strikes aimed at destroying the oil enterprise operated by IS. He continues, “Clinton’s adamant support for the nuclear deal with Iran is the most important indicator that she has learned nothing from her misjudgment of Russian Federation, China, and Syria”.
