Russian Federation claims Syrian airstrikes are targeting ISIS

“The US-led coalition will continue to fly missions over Iraq and Syria as planned and in support of our global mission to degrade and destroy ISIL (Islamic State)”, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

Ivanov told reporters that Moscow had made a decision to help Assad in order to protect Russian Federation from ISIL and similar fighters, not because of “some foreign policy goals or ambitions that our Western partners often accuse us of”.

Putin also said he expects Assad to sit down and talk with the Syrian opposition about a political settlement.

The Russian attacks occurred before Moscow and Washington had begun agreed talks on averting clashes between different militaries in the theater of battle.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and U.S. President Barack Obama shake hands for the cameras before the start of a bilateral meeting at the United Nations headquarters September 28, 2015 in New York City.

A three-star Russian general, who is par to the newly formed intelligence sharing agreement between Russia, Iraq, Iran, and the Assad regime, arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday and told US officials that Russia would begin airstrikes and that America “should refrain from conducting strikes and move any personnel out”, reports The Daily Beast.

John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, said he would have “grave concern” if the strikes were not against IS and added that the terrorist group could not be defeated while Mr Assad remained in power. But he called on Russian Federation to seek a diplomatic end to the Syrian civil war.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Meanwhile, at a U.S. House hearing, a top Pentagon official complained the Russians gave just one hour’s notice of the strikes.

Putin said he was striking against Islamic State and helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, long Russia’s closest ally in the region, in this aim.

The strikes reportedly hit rebel-controlled areas of Homs and Hama provinces, causing casualties.

If Russia’s recent actions and those now ongoing reflect a genuine commitment to defeat that organization, then we are prepared to welcome those efforts and to find a way to deconflict our operations and thereby multiply the military pressure on ISIL and affiliated groups.

Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko says Russia chose to involve itself in Syria after receiving a request from “legitimate Syrian authorities”, according to Tass. The objective of discussions would be “to ensure the safety of coalition air crews,” he said.

Khoja, an ethnic Turkmen and medical doctor, criticized the current efforts to train and equip non-Islamic State or al-Qaeda-linked groups, including by the United States, and called for a complete overview of the process.

Senator Payne said she hoped Russian Federation would join the US-led coalition in launching a focused attack on IS. “It’s too early for me to say exactly what targets they were aiming at and what targets were eventually hit”.