The battle for Syria
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Syrian troops and allied militia backed by Russian air strikes and cruise missiles fired from warships attacked rebels forces on Thursday as the government extended a major offensive to recapture territory in the west of the country.Rebel advances in western Syria earlier this year had threatened the coastal region vital to President Bashar al-Assad's control of the area and prompted Russia's intervention on his side last week.
A civil defence member gathers unexploded cluster bomblets that activists say were fired by the Russian air force at Maasran town, in the southern countryside of Idlib, Syria October 7, 2015. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
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'Tsar Putin' - as secure as he seems?
Vladimir Putin turned 63 this week with his now traditional display of sporting prowess, and an announcement that Russian naval vessels had launched a wave of missiles against Islamic State in Syria.
The Russian leader has never appeared more confident and his grip on power never more secure. In the past two years he has outmanoeuvred the West in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and Syria. Western sanctions have apparently failed to blunt his ambition.
But some of Putin's former allies, those who have fallen from grace during his 15 years in power, paint a different picture: Putin's position as Russian leader may be far less assured, they say.
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NATO chief says prepared to send troops to defend Turkey
NATO said it was prepared to send troops to Turkey to defend its ally after violations of Turkish airspace by Russian jets bombing Syria and Britain scolded Moscow for escalating a civil war that has already killed 250,000 people.
Officials at the U.S.-led alliance are still smarting from Russia's weekend incursions into Turkey's airspace near northern Syria and NATO defence ministers are meeting in Brussels with the agenda likely to be dominated by the Syria crisis.
"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.
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Exclusive: Congress probing U.S. spy agencies' possible lapses on Russia
Senior U.S. lawmakers have begun probing possible intelligence lapses over Moscow’s intervention in Syria, concerned that American spy agencies were slow to grasp the scope and intention of Russia’s dramatic military offensive there, U.S. congressional sources and other officials told Reuters.
A week after Russia plunged directly into Syria’s civil war by launching a campaign of air strikes, the intelligence committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives want to examine the extent to which the spy community overlooked or misjudged critical warning signs, the sources said.
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Insurgents shoot down helicopter in Syria's Hama province - monitor
Insurgents shot down a helicopter in Syria's Hama province on Thursday, a monitoring group said, as Russia continued air support for Syrian government forces fighting on the ground.
The helicopter was downed near the village of Kafr Nabouda in northern Hama, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It was unclear if the aircraft was Syrian or Russian. -
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As Russia escalates, U.S. rules out military cooperation in Syria
The United States on Wednesday ruled out military cooperation with Russia in Syria's war, accusing Moscow of pursuing a "tragically flawed" strategy that would force it to limit military talks to basic pilot safety.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter's critique amounted to a rebuff of Russia, which had sought greater coordination as Moscow escalates its military role in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"We are not prepared to cooperate in a strategy, which as we explained, is flawed - tragically flawed - on the Russians' part," Carter told a news conference during a trip to Rome.
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Syrian army starts major offensive to "liberate areas" - state TV
- Syria's military started a "big attack" on Thursday to take back towns and villages, the armed forces chief of staff said in comments published in state media.
The operation aims to "liberate areas and towns which have suffered from terrorism," Lt. Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayoub said according to state television. -
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The United States will not cooperate militarily with Russia in Syria because its strategy is ''tragically flawed'' but it is prepared to carry out basic, technical discussions on pilot safety, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
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Russian warships hit Islamic State's sites in Syria
Missiles fired from four Russian warships in the Caspian Sea hit infrastructure sites of the Islamic State group in Syria on Wednesday night, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Thursday.
The strikes hit plants for manufacturing shells and explosive devices, command centres, ammunition dumps and training camps, the ministry said on its website. -
Turkey's Erdogan warns Russia on nuclear project, natural gas
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Russia there were other places Turkey could get natural gas and other countries that could build its first nuclear plant, in the wake of Russian incursions into Turkish air space during its air campaign in Syria.
Russian aircraft twice entered Turkish air space at the weekend. Turkish F-16 jets have also been harassed by Syrian-based missile systems and unidentified planes since then.
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Syrian troops, Russian jets launch attack in Ghab Plain - monitor
Syrian government ground forces and allied militia backed by Russian air strikes launched an offensive against rebels in the strategically important Ghab Plain in western Syria on Thursday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Insurgents advanced into the area earlier this year, building on gains that have posed a threat to the coastal region vital to President Bashar al-Assad's control of western Syria.
Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Observatory, told Reuters that troops were targeting insurgent-held areas with heavy barrages of surface-to-surface missiles, as Russian jets bombed from above. -
Russia must use influence to protect civilians in Syria - Britain
Russia must use its influence to stop the Assad regime from bombing civilians, Britain's defence minister Michael Fallon said on Thursday, telling Moscow its involvement in the Syrian civil war had made the conflict more dangerous.
Arriving at a NATO defence ministers meeting, he also said Britain would send a small number of troops to NATO's eastern borders to deter any potential Russian aggression there.
The troops would go "for our allies on the eastern flank of NATO, for the Baltic states and for Poland".
"That is part of our policy of more persistent presence on the eastern side of NATO to respond to any further Russian provocation and aggression." -
After Syria coordination talks with Israel, Russia beckons to Turkey, U.S.
Russia ended high-level military talks with Israel on Wednesday with a call on other countries, including a suspicious United States and aggrieved Turkey, to coordinate operations in Syria.
The two countries discussed how they can avoid accidentally clashing while operating in Syria. Israel has been worried that Russia's deployment there, which includes advanced anti-aircraft units and warplanes, could lead to unwanted confrontation.
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No decision made on no-fly zone in Syria - U.S. State Department
There has been no decision to move forward with a no-fly zone in Syria, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday, following reports that Secretary of State John Kerry has raised the option of a no-fly-zone to protect civilians.
Quoting senior administration officials, CNN reported on Tuesday that Kerry has raised the possibility of a no-fly zone in Syria along the northern border, with some initial talk about another one near the southern border with Jordan.
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NATO ready to defend Turkey, send troops if needed - Stoltenberg
NATO is ready to send troops to Turkey to defend its ally against threats on its southern flank, the head of the U.S.-led alliance said on Thursday after violations of Turkish airspace by Russia jets conducting air strikes in Syria.
"NATO is ready and able to defend all allies, including Turkey against any threats," Jens Stoltenberg told reporters before a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels that will be dominated by the Syria crisis.
"NATO has already responded by increasing our capacity, our ability, our preparedness to deploy forces including to the south, including in Turkey," he said, noting that Russia's air and cruise missile strikes were "reasons for concern".
He also said no decision had been taken on NATO troop levels in Afghanistan. -
Russia backs Syrian forces in major assault on insurgents
Syrian troops and militia backed by Russian warplanes mounted what appeared to be their first major coordinated assault on Syrian insurgents on Wednesday and Moscow said its warships fired a barrage of missiles at them from the Caspian Sea, a sign of its new military reach.
The combined operation hit towns close to the main north-south highway that runs through major cities in the mainly government-held west of Syria, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group which tracks the conflict via a network of sources within the country.
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Iraq leans toward Russia in war on Islamic StateIraq may request Russian air strikes against Islamic State on its soil soon and wants Moscow to have a bigger role than the United States in the war against the militant group, the head of parliament's defense and security committee said on Wednesday.“In the upcoming few days or weeks, I think Iraq will be forced to ask Russia to launch air strikes, and that depends on their success in Syria," Hakim al-Zamili, a leading Shi'ite politician, told Reuters in an interview.
The comments were the clearest signal yet that Baghdad intends to lean on Russia in the war on Islamic State after U.S.-led coalition airstrikes produced limited results.
Russian military action in Iraq would deepen U.S. fears that it is losing more strategic ground to rivals in one of the world's most critical regions.
How Iranian general plotted out Syrian assault in Moscow
Russia backs Syrian forces in major assault on insurgents -
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Russia has ground troop battalion, advanced tanks in Syria - U.S. #NATO envoy @USNATO #Syria http://t.co/kIbvUPSybC12:49 PM - 07 Oct 2015
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As one does - Putin marks 63rd birthday with ice hockey match, Syria war briefing - http://t.co/9qukKU7WUv by @vsoldatkin via@reuters12:36 PM - 07 Oct 2015
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Furious but powerless, Turkey left smarting by Russian action in Syria: http://t.co/nisdWAFzam via@reuters12:32 PM - 07 Oct 2015- Reply
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Russia backs Syrian forces in major assault on insurgents
Syrian troops and militia backed by Russian jets mounted what appeared to be their first major coordinated assaults on Syrian insurgents on Wednesday and Moscow said its warships fired a barrage of missiles at them from the Caspian Sea, a sign of its new military reach.
The combined assault hit towns close to the main north-south highway that runs through major cities in the mainly government-held west of Syria, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group which tracks the conflict via a network of sources within the country.
Ground attacks by Syrian government forces and their militia allies using heavy surface-to-surface missile bombardments hit at least four insurgent positions and there were heavy clashes, the head of the Observatory, Rami Abdulrahman, said.
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Russian rappers hail Putin on his 63rd birthday as 'a super hero' in this lively clip shot on Moscow's Red Square: http://t.co/g3SkV5ZOCs12:17 PM - 07 Oct 2015
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France rebuffs Putin over Syria govt, rebel force comments - https://t.co/3CYH0oCSGl11:24 AM - 07 Oct 2015
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Russia has ground troop battalion, advanced tanks in Syria -US NATO envoy
Russia's military build-up in Syria includes a "considerable and growing" naval presence, long-range rockets and a battalion of ground troops backed by Moscow's most modern tanks, the U.S. ambassador to NATO said on Wednesday.
Speaking on the eve of a NATO defence ministers meeting to be dominated by Russia's intervention in Syria's civil war, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute said Moscow had managed a "quite impressive" military deployment over the past week to its Syria naval base in Tartous and its army base in Latakia.
"There is a considerable and growing Russia naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, more than 10 ships now, which is a bit out of the ordinary," he told a news briefing.
"The recent Russian reinforcements over the last week or so feature a battalion-size ground force ... There is artillery, there are long-range rocket capabilities, there are air defence capabilities," Lute said.
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Russia accuses U.S. of often not striking terrorist targets in Syria
MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The Russian defense ministry on Wednesday reacted to Washington's criticism of its air campaign in Syria by accusing the U.S. air force of not always bombing Islamic State militants itself.
"The American and other air forces have been carrying out strikes for a year already," said Major-General Igor Konashenkov, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
"But we have grounds to believe that they have not always ... been striking terrorist targets." (Reporting by Ekaterina Golubkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn) -
Hollande warns of total war if Middle East conflict not solved
PARIS (Reuters) - Europe must live up to the challenge of an upheaval that has forced hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee Syria, where everyone including Iran, Russia and the West must seek a political solution, French President Francois Hollande said on Wednesday.
Speaking alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Hollande said the risk of failure was "total war" and that Europe, if slow to grasp the scale of the refugee exodus, had now made a start.
As for Syria, Hollande reiterated the Paris line that any solution for Syria had to be based on an alternative to President Bashar al-Assad.
"What's happening in Syria concerns Europe because what is going on there will determine the balances of power in the region for a long time," he said.
"If we let the recent religious confrontations between Shiites and Sunnites get worse then don't think that we won't be affected. It will be a total war, a war that will also affect our territories and we must act."
(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald and Leigh Thomas; Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Toby Chopra) -
Russian military video of Moscow's first naval rocket strike against Syrian targets: http://t.co/MStxdmFALv10:17 AM - 07 Oct 2015
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"The government has been relying heavily on an untrustworthy ally, which is the United States, and this fault should be fixed."-- Muen al-Kadhimi, an aide to Hadi al-Amiri, the most powerful Shi'ite militia leader. Read more at Reuters.
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Iraq leans toward Russia in war on Islamic State
Iraq may request Russian air strikes against Islamic State on its soil soon and wants Moscow to have a bigger role than the United States in the war against the militant group, the head of parliament's defense and security committee said on Wednesday.
“In the upcoming few days or weeks, I think Iraq will be forced to ask Russia to launch air strikes, and that depends on their success in Syria," Hakim al-Zamili, a leading Shi'ite politician, told Reuters in an interview.
The comments were the clearest signal yet that Baghdad intends to lean on Russia in the war on Islamic State after U.S.-led coalition airstrikes produced limited results.
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Russian-flagged cargo ship Alexandr Tkachenko sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, September 6, 2015. The ship, chartered by the Russian government to make voyages to a government-controlled port in Syria was carrying military trucks when it headed to Syria last month, according to photographs taken as it passed through the Bosphorus Straits. The photographs, taken by a Turkish blogger who passed them to Reuters, follow a Reuters report that Russia has set up a seaborne lifeline via the Bosphorus to supply its armed forces in Syria and President Bashar al-Assad's forces as it steps up its involvement in the conflict. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
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U.S., allies focus air strikes on Islamic State in Iraq
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies staged 23 air strikes on Islamic State forces on Tuesday in the latest daily round of attacks on the militant group in Syria and Iraq, the Combined Joint Task Force said on Wednesday.
Twenty of the strikes were in Iraq near 10 cities and hit tactical units, fighting positions, weapons, buildings and other assets, a statement from the task force said.
Three strikes near the Syrian city of Abu Kamal hit two Islamic State oil collection facilities, the statement said.
(Writing by Bill Trott; Editing by Susan Heavey) -
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How Iranian general plotted out Syrian assault in Moscow
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Soleimani (L) stands at the frontline during offensive operations against Islamic State militants in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015.REUTERS/STRINGERAt a meeting in Moscow in July, a top Iranian general unfurled a map of Syria to explain to his Russian hosts how a series of defeats for President Bashar al-Assad could be turned into victory - with Russia's help.
Major General Qassem Soleimani's visit to Moscow was the first step in planning for a Russian military intervention that has reshaped the Syrian war and forged a new Iranian-Russian alliance in support of Assad.
As Russian warplanes bomb rebels from above, the arrival of Iranian special forces for ground operations underscores several months of planning between Assad's two most important allies, driven by panic at rapid insurgent gains.
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As Putin turns 63, he hears his ships based in Caspian fired rockets across Syria/Iraq to hit Islamists in Syria: http://t.co/xdOzUhKDvK10:05 AM - 07 Oct 2015
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Interesting look at how Russia is getting its military kit to Syria: http://t.co/GIiVa2PEeK via@reuters by @m_tsvetkova & Gleb Stolyarov9:58 AM - 07 Oct 2015Delete
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Russia says rockets from warships struck Islamic State, Al-Nusra
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian defense ministry said on Wednesday that 26 rockets fired by its warships earlier in the day had struck targets associated with Islamic State and Al-Nusra, the Interfax news agency reported.
(Reporting by Ekaterina Golubkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn) -
U.S. says hasn't agreed to cooperate militarily with Russia in Syria
The United States will not cooperate militarily with Russia in Syria because its strategy is "tragically flawed" but it is prepared to carry out basic, technical discussions on pilot safety, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday.
"We are not prepared to cooperate in a strategy which as we explained is flawed, tragically flawed on Russia's part," Carter said during a trip to Rome, renewing U.S. accusations that Russia's strikes were not focused on Islamic State militants.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Crispian Balmer; Editing by Louise Ireland) -
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Russia accuses U.S. of shirking duty to fight terrorism over Syria
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday that Washington's refusal to share intelligence with it about the positions of Islamic State militants showed the United States was looking for an excuse not to fight terrorism.
"Our partners from other countries who see a real enemy in Islamic State which must be destroyed actively help us with data about bases, warehouses, command points and terror training camps," Major-General Igor Konashenkov, a ministry spokesman, was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.
"But those who seem to have a different opinion about this terrorist organisation are constantly looking for reasons to refuse us cooperation in the fight against international terrorism," he said, referring to Washington.
(Reporting by Ekaterina Golubkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
Saudi King Salman assails Iran in United Nations debut
NEW YORK/DUBAI Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz took aim at Iran during his debut on Wednesday at the annual United Nations meeting of world leaders, calling for a united front to contain Riyadh's rival and stop it from getting weapons of mass destruction.