China says Russian Federation, United States must avoid fighting proxy war in Syria

That would leave the Islamic State as the only alternative to Russia’s ally; an unpalatable option to everyone in the region.

Russian jets have reportedly bombed more than 60 rebel targets, as USA officials admitted they could do nothing to protect CIA-backed rebels.

Russian Federation has been accused of targeting anti-Assad rebels in a bid to help President Bashar al-Assad’s government, rather than to destroy Isis.

Army Col. Steve Warren, US military spokesman in Baghdad, says USA and Russian aircraft came within sight of each other over Syria on Saturday, but they were miles apart and the pilots behaved professionally.

Soleimani was pictured in a wooded area of northern Latakia province addressing Iranian officers and Hezbollah fighters with a microphone, wearing dark clothes as he spoke to the men in camouflage. Eight senior figures from IS were killed in an Iraqi airstrike in Iraq on 11 October, the Iraqi military said. Washington has been increasing support for rebel groups it backs in Syria, and one group said Tuesday that US-made anti-tank missiles were turning the tide in a major battle in the country’s centre and northwest.

Assad’s foreign opponents appear to be stepping up support for rebel groups in response to the Russian-Iranian intervention.

Among them, it said, were several IS targets. The missiles have been widely seen as important to rebel advances earlier this year that had put Assad under pressure. However, the USA cancelled its $580m rebel-training programme, instead deciding to focus on supplying weapons to select groups.

The United States and Russian Federation hope that an agreement on air safety procedures can prevent an inadvertent clash over Syria as the former Cold War foes carry out parallel, uncoordinated campaigns of air strikes.

The United States and Russian Federation are to hold new talks on avoiding incidents in the skies of Syria, as regime forces launch heavy attacks against rebels near Damascus.