Iranian Troops ‘In Syria’ For Aleppo Offensive

Both sides said progress was made. A second official said the agreement that emerges would cover all aircraft that are part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS.

The Russian military intervention to prop up Syria’s government has brought new scrutiny of the CIA’s secret support to Syrian rebels fighting Bashar Assad. “It will only add more destruction and displacement”.

The Syrian conflict is now in its fifth year, with estimates that 250,000 people have been killed and millions displaced.

The loss of Jisr al-Shughour, followed by the fall of the entire province, was a resounding defeat for Assad, opening the way for rebels to threaten his Alawite heartland in the coastal province of Latakia.

White House hopeful Hillary Clinton echoed his call for a no-fly zone during the first Democratic presidential debate this week.

“The trouble is that America doesn’t have a partner”, he said.

“The idea is to formalise the relationship with Iran, Russian Federation and Syria”.

But on the ground, the operational situation is looking ever more challenging.

Russian Federation last month began air strikes on targets in Syria in a dramatic escalation of foreign involvement in the civil war.

The fiercest clashes between Syrian government troops and rebels since took place yesterday, as the USA dropped 50 tonnes of ammunition to arm the rebel factions opposing Assad. A few are using U.S.-delivered TOW anti-tank missiles, while others are resorting to tactics such as booby-trapped cars.

The Russian air strikes started in Syria on September 30, targeting the positions of the Nusra Front and the IS among other terror groups in the war-torn country.

Lavrov, speaking at the Barents Euro-Arctic Council in Oulu, Finland, also said a new intelligence centre in Baghdad now staffed by Russian, Iraqi, Iranian and Syrian officials remained open to all interested parties.

“It’s a proxy war by happenstance”, Jeff White of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy told the Washington Post.

“We’ve aligned ourselves to these guys, we trained them and paid them and sent them off to battle, and when the going gets tough, we’re not there”.

The Associated Press reported that the Russian Embassy in Damascus was shelled Tuesday as pro-government demonstrators gathered outside, while Syria’s largest insurgent coalition announced an offensive to counter Moscow’s aerial bombing.

In the area of Hreitan in Aleppo province, a Russian aircraft destroyed an ammunition depot that belonged to IS jihadists.