Russian Missiles ‘Hit IS in Syria From Caspian Sea’
Jordan, France, Russia, the US, and oh yeah Syria is bombing Syria. But we will not cooperate with Russia. So what happens next with the Not Too Hot Not Too Cold Simmer War?
Note that this follows a threat from Saudi Arabia to take down Assad via a military option if the political solution fails. October 1st. AP via Fox.
Weep for the Syrians who are caught up in a complete disaster, a morass of terror, superpower gambits and a country in ruins.
It appears to be the first co-ordinated offensive since the air campaign by Russia - a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - began on 30 September.
Russia says it is targeting “all terrorists”, but at least some of its air strikes have reportedly hit civilians and Western-backed rebels.
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said that coalition forces fighting IS in Syria would not co-operate with Russia.
“We believe Russia has the wrong strategy,” he said. “They continue to hit targets that are not IS. We believe this is a fundamental mistake.”
Pentagon officials later revealed they had had to carry out at least one “safe separation” manoeuvre to avoid a US jet coming too close to a Russian aircraft over Syria. They said this happened after 1 October - without giving a specific date.