U.S. dismisses cooperation with Russian Federation in Syria

But Washington and its allies slammed Russia’s intervention in the multi-front conflict, saying Moscow was also targeting Western-backed moderate rebels and seeking to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Gains by Islamic State north of Aleppo would threaten the supply lines of rival rebels inside the city, which is divided between insurgents and government forces.

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.

Syrian government forces launched an offensive Thursday in the central province of Homs under the cover of Russian airstrikes in an attempt to clear the central region of militants and open the highway between Syria’s third and fourth largest cities, a military official and activists said.

And yet, rebel commanders say the offensive has failed to dislodge the various insurgent groups from territory they control that leads to the heartland of Assad’s power.

The latest Russian strikes destroyed artillery positions in Khan Sheikhun in the Hama province, one of the targets of the Syrian military offensive.

The army also launched a fresh assault against rebel-held areas east of Damascus on Wednesday, including Jobar and Harasta, controlled by non-Islamic State rebel groups including Jaish al-Islam.

Putin, speaking at an investment forum on Tuesday, said Russia’s delegation could include military officials at the level of deputy chief of the General Staff as well as members of security services. The rebels are backed by the US, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, including a few ultraconservative groups and al-Qaida affiliates.

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

Saoud, the 13th Division commander whose fighters received TOW missiles, said he worked in the same trench with a faction from the Army of Conquest. “It is an emergency situation”.

It said the airport has stopped receiving global flights and has been turned into a base for the Iranian forces and the Russians. “In my mind, that is a victory”.