Russia launches new strikes on Assad’s enemies
Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at a press conference at the United Nations on October 1, 2015 in New York City. Russian warplanes unleashed a new wave of strikes against opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Thursday, as Moscow and Washington prepared for urgent talks to avoid clashes between their forces. PHOTO | ANDREW BURTON | AFP
What you need to know:
- It was the second straight day of Russian raids in Syria, where Moscow on Wednesday launched its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.
- A member of the Army of Conquest, which controls Idlib province and has advanced west towards Assad’s coastal heartland of Latakia, said on Twitter that “Russian pigs” had flattened a mosque in Jisr al-Shughur.
BEIRUT
Russian warplanes unleashed a new wave of strikes against opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Thursday, as Moscow and Washington prepared for urgent talks to avoid clashes between their forces.
It was the second straight day of Russian raids in Syria, where Moscow on Wednesday launched its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hit back at allegations that civilians had been killed, describing the claims as “information warfare”.
Moscow, a key backer of Assad, said the latest strikes had hit four targets linked to the Islamic State jihadist group, which controls large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq.
But a Syrian security source said they had targeted a powerful coalition of Islamist rebels which includes Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate and which is fiercely opposed to IS.
“Air strikes from four Russian warplanes struck bases held by the Army of Conquest in Jisr al-Shughur and Jabal al-Zawiya in Idlib province,” the source said, adding that arms depots held by “armed groups” in neighbouring Hama province were also targeted.
NO REBELS HIT
A member of the Army of Conquest, which controls Idlib province and has advanced west towards Assad’s coastal heartland of Latakia, said on Twitter that “Russian pigs” had flattened a mosque in Jisr al-Shughur.
Late Thursday, sources said Russian warplanes fired missiles at a training camp run by a US-backed rebel group in the northwest Syrian province of Idlib on Thursday, the group’s spokesman told AFP.
“At exactly 10:30am (0730 GMT), Russian planes targeted Suqur al-Jabal’s training camp, with four Russian planes firing more than 10 missiles,” Mustafa Halabi said, spokesman for Suqur al-Jabal (Falcons of the Mountain).
He said two more Russian warplanes attacked the base at noon local time, but that no rebels were hit.
In Moscow, the defence ministry said it had bombed “four Islamic State targets” in Syria overnight, destroying “the headquarters of terrorist groups and a weapons warehouse.’’
