Government pushes for Syria bombing despite fears of clash with Russia

Also in Aleppo, Islamic State militants killed an Iranian brigadier general and adviser to the Syrian government, Hossein Hamedani, Iran’s official news agency said Friday.

Despite a push toward regime-controlled areas by the Islamic State, its militants were not struck by Russian warplanes, activists said.

“I cannot say anything, but any professional in this field knows that in carrying out such operations, you always find the image of the target before and after the impact”, continued the defense.

Islamic State group fighters have advanced on Syria’s second city Aleppo despite more than a week of Russian air strikes that Moscow says is aimed at routing the jihadists.

He also reiterated that the recent violations of Turkish airspace by Russian aircrafts are “unacceptable” and said North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is monitoring the situation closely.

“No matter how unpleasant and unexpected for our colleagues in the Pentagon and Langley was yesterday’s high-precision strike on Islamic State (of Iraq and the Levant) infrastructure in Syria, the fact remains that all missiles launched from our ships have found their targets,”Russian defense ministry’s spokesman Maj”.

The Russian defense ministry said stepped-up airstrikes on rebel positions in Syria killed 300 anti-Assad rebels and that it hit 60 ISIS targets over the last day.

Gains in Aleppo “would basically give them the ability to attack the rebels from different sides and take areas under the control of the rebels”, Hassan said.

On Thursday, Ashton Carter, the USA defence secretary, accused Moscow of inflaming extremism.

Syria’s army announced today a “vast offensive” to wrest back territory from armed opposition groups, as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation voiced alarm at escalating Russian military activity in the war-torn country. Regional sources also told Reuters that Soleimani travelled to Russia in July to plan for the Russian military intervention that has reshaped the Syrian war.

The meeting was dominated by concerns about Russia’s military actions in Syria.

The new developments come amid a wave of Russian airstrikes that have targeted insurgents fighting to topple President Bashar Assad, and a ground offensive by the Syrian army in the country’s central region.

In Aleppo province, the monitor said a vehicle bombing blamed on IS in the town of Hreitan – controlled by a group of Islamist rebel factions including Al-Nusra -killed 12 people and wounded a similar number.