Syria
Russian jets hit IS targets in Palmyra
Russian jets hit Islamic State targets in the Syrian city of Palmyra and the northern province of Aleppo, Syrian state television and a monitoring group said on Tuesday, in some of the heaviest Russian attacks on the hardline Islamist group, according to Reuters. The strikes destroyed 20 vehicles and three weapons depots in...
Forbes: Poker player Putin raises stakes on Syria, Ukraine. Can European Union call his bluff?
Russian President Vladimir Putin is strengthening his negotiating power with the European Union, and the United States, in the standoff around Ukraine by backing Bashar al-Assad in Syria and bombing rebel militants there, even if they do not belong to Islamic State. Not only is Russia now setting the pace in the conflict in...
Russia violates Turkish airspace twice
A Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace on Sunday, a Turkish foreign ministry official said, the second such breach over the past three days, prompting Ankara to once again summon Moscow's ambassador, Reuters reports. Turkey, a NATO member with the alliance's second biggest army, scrambled two F-16 jets on Saturday...
Al-Qaeda affiliate issues bounty for capture of Russian troops in Syria: Newsweek
A prominent spiritual leader and financier of al-Qaeda's official branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, issued a bounty worth three million Syrian pounds ($15,900) for the capture of a Russian soldier in Syria on Thursday, a day after Russia carried out its first airstrikes against rebel groups in the country, according to...
Reuters: Egypt says Russia’s intervention in Syria will counter terrorism
Russia's intervention in Syria will curtail the spread of terrorism and help deal a fatal blow to Islamic State in the war-torn country, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Saturday, according to Reuters. Russia launched air strikes in Syria on Wednesday in its biggest Middle East intervention in decades,...
Russia says to increase air strikes in Syria
Russia said on Saturday it would increase its air strikes in Syria and was willing to cooperate with all interested countries after carrying out more than 60 sorties in 72 hours there, according to The Daily Mail. "We will not only continue strikes… we will also increase their intensity," said Andrei Kartapolov...
Syria conflict: Russia and France meet amid tensions over air strikes
French President Francois Hollande heads for talks with his Russian counterpart on Friday, amid fears Russia is carrying out "indiscriminate" air strikes on Syrian militants. The White House says Russia is carrying out random air strikes against the Syrian opposition. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov...
Syria conflict: Russia launches fresh strikes
Russia has launched air strikes in Syria for a second day. The strikes reportedly targeted positions in the north-west held by the Army of Conquest rebel alliance. Russia said it had struck four Islamic State (IS) facilities overnight, and destroyed a "terrorist HQ" outside Idlib and a command post near Hama. Russia...
Syrian opposition accuses Russia of aggression against civilians
Syrian opposition condemns Russia for bombing residential areas, according to an independent journalist Reza Afshar citing Syrian opposition leader Khaled Khoja. Khaled Khoja condemned Russia’s actions, speaking at a press conference on Wednesday. He said, Syrian people have right to resist Russian aggression....
CNN: Russia conducts first airstrike in Syria (Video)
Russia has conducted its first airstrike in Syria, near the city of Homs, a senior U.S. official told CNN on Wednesday. The Russians told the United States that they should not fly U.S. warplanes in Syria, but gave no geographical information about where they planned to strike, CNN reports. The senior official said U.S....
Pentagon opens lines of communication with Russia on Syria Read
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has directed his staff to "open lines of communication with Russia on de-confliction," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said, DPA reported. Carter's order made it clear that the two nations have common ground when it comes to fighting Islamic State, and the goal should be to take...
BREAKING: Russia approves use of military force in Syria
Vladimir Putin request to Russian parliament required under country's law immediately approved, paving the way for open Russian intervention in Syria, according to The Telegraph. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad asked Russia's Vladimir Putin for military aid, the Kremlin's chief of staff Sergei Ivanov said on...