Assad preps for Russian airstrike-aided ground operations

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.

Syrian state TV quoted an unidentified military official as saying that Russian planes targeted IS positions in central Syria, including the areas of Rastan and Talbiseh, and areas near the town of Salamiyeh in Hama province.

With the United States leading an alliance waging its own air war against Islamic State, the Cold War superpower foes, Washington and Moscow, are now engaged in combat over the same country for the first time since World War Two.

Asked about the prospect of Assad continuing as president, Mr Blunt told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ” Yes, we might have to live with it.

Russia’s air campaign in support of Syrian government forces began Wednesday in what Putin called a pre-emptive strike against militants.

The US-led coalition will continue missions over Iraq and Syria, Kirby added.

The talks, to be held by video teleconference, come a day after Russian fighter jets began bombing in western Syria.

The dramatic escalation of the conflict in Syria prompted by Russia’s military action has dominated the UN General Assembly. Assad has tried to make up for his losses by launching offensives elsewhere, but even with the help of thousands of Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon, the Syrian army has struggled to achieve results.

The ministry’s spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham, said the “Islamic Republic of Iran considers military action by Russian Federation against armed terrorist groups to be a step toward fighting terrorism and toward resolving the current crisis” in Syria.

The decision followed weeks of military buildup by Russian Federation in Syrian government-controlled territory.

But Putin has insisted for just as long that any attempt to drive Assad from power would be both illegal and ill-advised, as Assad’s army presents the most credible force to counter ISIS.

Russia’s defense ministry said that over the past 24 hours it had damaged or destroyed 12 targets in Syria belonging to the Islamic State fighters, including a command center and ammunition depots. “Haven’t a lot of them switched to IS group?”

USA officials have not ruled out that rebel forces could receive air cover if attacked by Assad’s air force. “It existed but whether it does now nobody knows for sure, it’s a relative concept”.

Six bombers reached Syria circumventing Azerbaijan and flying over the Caspian Sea, Iran and Iraq.

The subcommittee chairman, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, offered his concerns that the USA won’t achieve one of its principal objectives: removing Assad from power.

France yesterday launched an inquiry into Assad for alleged “crimes against humanity” including kidnappings and torture. Lavrov said it would be discussed over the next month.

Islamic State jihadists hold up their weapons and wave flags from their vehicles in a convoy near Raqqa city in Syria, in this undated photograph. Vetted groups in northern Syria have received military support via an operations room based in Turkey.

A Syrian military source said on Thursday that Russian military support would bring a “big change” in the course of the conflict, particularly through advanced surveillance capabilities that could pinpoint insurgent targets.