PUTIN ‘TARGETING OUR FORCES’ USA official: Russians ‘deliberately’ attacking US

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported Wednesday that Iranian troops were arriving in Syria and were transported to the military base in the town of Jableh.

In an apparent jab at the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS), which has been striking the terror group’s positions in Syria for over a year with little tangible results, Boroujerdi said countries that want to ostensibly fight terrorism with no true will must join the U.S.-led coalition.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (Oct 15) blasted Washington for being “unconstructive” on Syria after the Kremlin said the United States had declined to host a high-level delegation from Moscow. But it has also struck positions of rebel groups backed by the West and other regional players.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexey Meshkov said that Russia had never denied providing military aid to Syria, and was ready to fight against all “constructive” groups fighting Daesh.

But even as they try to “de-conflict”, evidence is mounting that Russia’s air campaign is targeting more than just the Islamic State.

Such support would be “a complicated proposition”, he added, given that a lot of the materiel the USA has sent to moderate rebels has ended up in the hands of jihadists. He said jets were still flying in the area.

Any further escalation in the Aleppo area near the Turkish border will likely further anger North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Ankara which opposes President Bashar al-Assad, backs the insurgents, and has expressed deep concern at Russian air strikes. A few are using U.S.-delivered TOW anti-tank missiles, while others are resorting to tactics such as booby-trapped cars.

The Latakia airbase has recently witnessed the arrival of “hundreds” of Russian military advisers and experts, it said.

The CIA-backed rebels shrugged off criticism of cooperating with al-Qaida. That umbrella group includes militants from the Nusra Front. “It is the Russian invasion”, he said. “Everyone would understand that”.

It said the airport has stopped receiving worldwide flights and has been turned into a base for the Iranian forces and the Russians.

“With all that firepower, with new launchers and a hail of airstrikes… they were not able to advance”, Saoud said of the government troops.