Russia begins Syria air strikes in its biggest Mideast intervention in decades
(Worthy News) – Russia launched air strikes in Syria on Wednesday in its biggest Middle East intervention in decades, plunging the four-year-old civil war into a volatile new phase as President Vladimir Putin moved forcefully to stake out influence in the unstable region.
Moscow’s assertion that it had hit Islamic State militants was immediately disputed by the United States and rebels on the ground. The attacks also raised the dangerous specter of Washington and Moscow running air strikes concurrently and in the same region, but without coordination.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks at the United Nations that they agreed their countries should meet very soon on the Syrian situation.
“We agreed on the imperative of as soon as possible, perhaps even as soon as tomorrow, but as soon as possible, having a military-to-military deconfliction discussion,” Kerry said. [ Source ]
Russia warned over Syria air strikes, which reportedly target US-backed rebels
Russian air strikes risk driving Syria’s “entire opposition” into the arms of Isil, Britain warned on Wednesday, as President Vladimir Putin’s jets bombed targets in three different provinces, reports Harriet Alexander in New York and Roland Oliphant in Moscow.
US officials have now said that at least one strike directly targeted rebels that were trained and supported by the US, according to the Wall St Journal.
The SU-24 strike aircraft launched a series of raids in Homs, Hama and Latakia. The Russian defence ministry said that 20 sorties were flown against eight targets, described as “military vehicles” along with “arms, ammunition and fuel depots” belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). [ Source ]