Turkish jets shoot down drone near border with Syria

The Turkish military on Friday said it shot down an aircraft of unknown nationality that had intruded into its airspace near the Syrian border.

While Putin may find himself in a quagmire in Syria – quagmire being the reason Obama has likely been cautious about committing American troops there – his aggressive moves show the inherent danger in the United States being perceived as weak.

Two Turkish F-16s forced the plane back into Syrian airspace and Russian Federation responded by saying the plane had entered Turkey “by mistake” and assured Ankara it would not happen again.

More recently, Turkey has complained about at least two instances of Russian warplanes violating its territory.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry had also made a demand for Russian officials to visit Turkey and brief Turkish officials about the recent violation over the Turkish-Syrian border. The incidents occurred after Turkey changed its rules of engagement in response to the downing of a Turkish fighter jet by Syria.

Turkey, which patrols the border with F-16s, also has reported numerous incidents of harassment by Syrian fighter planes or Syria-based surface-to-air missile systems locking radar on the aircraft.

In a statement released Thursday, the Russian military said its command center at Hmeimim air base in Syria had established a link with a command post of the Israeli air force, and that training was under way between Israeli and Russian military personnel.

He spoke hours after Russian Federation said the parties were close to signing the accord on military-to-military communications.

A Kurdish official who spoke to G2 Bulletin said that if the open conflict between the government of Turkey and its 20 million Kurds continues much longer, a civil war could result.

Though Turkey has shot down the drone, its origin and ownership is still being discussed upon.

In one instance, the Russian military said, a drone flying in the vicinity of Khan-Shaykhun in Hama province spotted a hidden artillery battery; Russian Su-34 and Su-25 strike aircraft bombed the position, destroying six artillery pieces, four off-road vehicles outfitted as mortar carriers, and ammunition.

Moscow says its strikes have targeted the Islamic State group and other “terrorists” but rebels and their backers accuse Russian Federation of targeting moderate and Islamist opposition forces rather than IS.

“All the airplanes of the Russian aviation group in the Syrian Arab Republic have returned after accomplishing their combat tasks, ” Konashenkov said.

It was the first time Iranian fighters had taken part on such a scale in the Syrian conflict, he said, although their numbers were modest compared to the army force.

Syrian troops backed by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters on the ground and Russian planes in the air pressed ahead with an assault against rebels in central Syria and launched another offensive in the northern province of Aleppo yesterday, extending an ambitious campaign to recapture lost territory from armed fighters, activists and the government said.

Sensing policy paralysis in Washington over Middle East issues in general and the Syrian question in particular, Putin offered to send a delegation, led by Putin lieutenant Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, to Washington to explain Russia’s military campaign against Islamic State.

“The Pentagon may say whatever it wants”, he told the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda.

In the above photo, an Orthodox priest blesses Russian missiles intended for airstrikes against Syrian rebels.