The battle for Syria
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Lavrov says Russia coordinating with Syrian military on targets
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the United Nations on Thursday that Russia is coordinating with the Syrian army to target Islamic State militants.
He made the comment when he was asked at a news conference whether Moscow was planning to back a ground offensive against the militants with air strikes.
"The Russian air force is targeting ISIL and other terrorist positions in coordination with the Syrian army," Lavrov said. When again asked if the air strikes would back a ground offensive he added: "I am not a military planner."
Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria in the last 10 days and will soon join government forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies in a major ground offensive backed by Russian air strikes, two Lebanese sources told Reuters.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by David Storey) -
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UPDATE: Russia jets strike Islamic State in northern Syria - al-Mayadeen TV
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russian warplanes bombed an airbase in northern Syria on Thursday in what appeared to be Russia's first strikes on a known Islamic State-held target, as well as other areas in the west and east of the country, al-Mayadeen TV said.
The strikes hit areas including Tabqa airbase in Raqqa province, an Islamic State stronghold, the channel said in a newsflash citing its correspondent. Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen has good contacts in Syria.
Islamic State seized Tabqa airbase in August 2014 and killed scores of captive government soldiers, in what was a major symbolic blow for the Syrian military at the time.
The channel said the Russian strikes on Thursday also hit rural parts of Deir al-Zor, which is held by Islamic State. There were also strikes on the countryside of Hama province, in western Syria, it said. There was no immediate confirmation of the strikes on Syrian state media.
(Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) -
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Russian air strikes targeted CIA-backed rebels in Syria: Senator McCain
Senator John McCain on Thursday said Russia's initial air strikes in Syria targeted recruits in the Free Syrian Army rebel group backed by the United States.
"I can absolutely confirm to you that they were strikes against our Free Syrian Army recruits that have been armed and trained by the CIA because we have communications with people there," McCain, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview on CNN.
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Russia says data analysis shows it only hit Islamic State targets in Syria
MOSCOW, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Russian's own data analysis carried out after it launched air strikes against targets inside Syria showed its planes had only struck Islamic State targets, an airforce official was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday.
Moscow's account is disputed by U.S. officials and politicians as well as by rebel groups on the ground who say the areas it struck are mostly held by a rival insurgent alliance, which unlike Islamic State is supported by U.S. allies including Arab states and Turkey.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Andrew Osborn) -
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Iraq says would welcome Russian air strikes against IS in Iraq
NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Thursday he would welcome Russian air strikes against Islamic State in his country and had been receiving information from both Syria and Russia on the militant group.
"Not yet," Abadai told France 24 television when asked if he had discussed with Russia air strikes in his country. "It is a possibility. If we get the offer we will consider it and I would welcome it."
He said Baghdad had also been receiving "massive information" from Syria on Islamic State and also from Russia. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by David Storey) -
Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad's government, sources said on Thursday, a further sign of the rapid internationalisation of a civil war in which every major country in the region has a stake.Russian warplanes bombed a camp run by rebels trained by the CIA, the group's commander said, putting Moscow and Washington on opposing sides in a Middle East conflict for the first time since the Cold War.The U.S. and Russian militaries will hold talks at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) via video link to seek ways to keep their militaries apart as they wage parallel campaigns of air strikes in Syria, a U.S. defence official said.Russian jets struck targets near the cities of Hama and Homs in western Syria on the second day of their surprise air campaign, which they launched on Wednesday.Moscow said it had hit Islamic State positions, but the area where it struck is held by a rival insurgent alliance, which unlike Islamic State is supported by U.S. allies including Arab states and Turkey. -
The entire strategy of the West over #Syria has collapsed within 72 hours.
Reasons? Incoherence, lack of will to engage, anti-Assad mania.3:40 PM - 01 Oct 2015- Reply
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A Free Syrian Army fighter walks near military vehicles during what they said was preparations for an operation to strike at forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad in order to break a siege on the city of Beit Gin located in western countryside of Damascus in Deraa, Syria September 30, 2015. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir
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Russia warplanes strike Islamic State in northern Syria - al-Mayadeen TV
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russian warplanes targeted an airbase held by Islamic State fighters in northern Syria on Thursday as well as areas in Hama province in the west, Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen TV said.
The strikes hit areas including Tabqa airbase in Raqqa province, an Islamic State stronghold, the channel said in a newsflash.
(Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Angus MacSwan) -
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U.S., Russia militaries to hold talks shortly on Syria: U.S. official
The U.S. and Russian militaries will hold talks at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Thursday via secure video conference to seek ways to keep their militaries apart as they wage parallel campaigns of airstrikes in Syria, a U.S. defense official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Elissa Slotkin, an acting assistant secretary of defense, and a senior uniformed military officer from the Joint Staff would represent the Pentagon in the talks.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) -
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Syria and Ukraine: two fronts in Russian war for influence
Russia's air strikes in Syria are in part designed to extract concessions from the West overUkraine by making Moscow a key player in any attempts by world powers to hammer out a post-conflict settlement in Damascus, some Western officials believe.
While the Syrian capital lies 1,800 miles (3,000 km) south of Kiev, for Russian President Vladimir Putin they are two fronts in the same war that is aimed at blocking Ukraine's European integration, some EU, U.S. and NATO officials say.
Publicly no officials will make such a link, saying it is too speculative and French diplomats hosting a high-level meeting with Putin in Paris on Friday are reluctant to draw any conclusions.
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What some in the West think Putin is thinking on #Syria and #Ukraine http://t.co/wgwqPfre1B #US #EU #NATO10:21 AM - 01 Oct 2015
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From a purely strategic standpoint, however, it remains unclear why Putin thinks it is a good idea to embark on a second military operation before the first one has ended.
Russia lacks all the tactical advantages in Syria that it enjoyed in Ukraine — a common language, deep knowledge of the region and the apparent unlimited ability to infiltrate and compromise one’s opponent.Even more important, Russia has decided to engage in Syria when it has limited resources to maintain one, let alone two wars."- William E. Pomeranz -
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks to media regarding the current situation in Syria at the United Nations in Manhattan, New York September 30, 2015. Russia launched air strikes in Syria yesterday in the Kremlin's biggest Middle East intervention in decades. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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In one year, #Syria has been bombed by: Assad, USA, Russia, Israel, Turkey, France, UK, Jordan, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Saudis, and UAE.9:47 AM - 01 Oct 2015
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Turkey will not allow 'fait accompli situations' next to borders: Erdogan
Turkey will not allow "terror to take root" or "fait accompli situations" next to its borders, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, a day after Russia launched air strikes in neighboring Syria.
Russia launched its biggest intervention in the Middle East in decades on Wednesday, targeting areas near the cities of Homs and Hama in the west of the country, where President Bashar al-Assad's forces are fighting a number of insurgent groups, though not Islamic State, which is based mostly in the north and east.
The move by Moscow puts Ankara - which has long called for Assad's removal - in an uncomfortable position, raising questions about its ability to contain the fallout from a worsening military and humanitarian crisis on its doorstep.
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Exclusive: Assad allies, including Iranians, prepare ground attack in Syria - sources http://t.co/B3ndgUtVTH9:34 AM - 01 Oct 2015
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A civil defense member tries to put out the flames on a burning military vehicle at a base controlled by rebel fighters from the Ahrar al-Sham Movement, that was targeted by what activists said were Russian airstrikes at Hass ancient cemeteries in the southern countryside of Idlib, Syria October 1, 2015. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi -
A combination of frame grabs taken from video released by the Russian Defence Ministry October 1, 2015, shows Russian jets hitting a target in Syria which the Kremlin says includes a list of well-known militant organizations and not only Islamic State. The Russian defence ministry said on Thursday its jets had struck four Islamic State targets in Syria overnight in a new round of sorties and that its planes had strictly avoided populated areas. Moscow's assertion that it had struck Islamic State targets came after the United States and rebels on the ground suggested earlier Russian strikes had not focused on Islamic State, but had struck other militant groups instead. REUTERS/Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout -
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Syrian Turkmen group says Russian strikes kill over 40 civilians
Russia's first airstrikes in Syria, which Moscow said were aimed at Islamic State fighters, instead hit Free Syrian Army sites and killed dozens of civilians, an opposition Turkmen group said on Thursday.
Russian jets continued to bomb rebel positions for a second day in western Syria on Thursday. The bombardment marks a major escalation of the four-year conflict, where the United States and its coalition of Western allies and regional states have been flying missions for more than a year.
Areas where ethnic Turkmens live in Homs and Hama came under attack on Wednesday, the Turkey-based Syrian Turkmen Assembly said in a statement. In the village of Telbiseh near Homs alone, 40 civilians, including Turkmens, were killed, it said.
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Russian warplanes target insurgents in Syria but not Islamic State
Russian jets launched a second day of air strikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting areas held by an insurgent alliance that includes a group linked to al Qaeda, but not the Islamic State militants Moscow said it had hit.
Russia said it had launched eight air strikes with Sukhoi warplanes overnight, hitting four Islamic State targets. However, the areas where it said the strikes took place are not held by Islamic State.
Al-Mayadeen, a pro-Damascus television channel, said jets carried out at least 30 strikes against an insurgent alliance known as the Army of Conquest. The alliance includes the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's Syrian branch, but not Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate on swathes of Syria and Iraq.
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Russia begins Syria air strikes in its biggest Mideast intervention in decades
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.
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Iran-backed forces seize tanker, maritime sources say; Iran denies it
DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) -Iranian-backed forces are believed to have seized an oil tanker in the Gulf off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, three maritime security sources said, after Britain's maritime trade agency reported a "potential hijack" in the area on Tuesday.
