France and Russia bombed Islamic State targets in Syria on Tuesday, punishing the group for attacks in Paris and against a Russian airliner that together killed 353 people, and made the first tentative steps toward a possible military alliance.
In response to the Paris terror attacks that have so far claimed 129 lives and wounded 300 more, French warplanes have for the first time attacked Islamic State (ISIS) targets inside of Syria. Until now, France had limited its attacks to Iraqi airspace, matching the policy of a number of its coalition partners.
Eighty-five to 90 per cent of Russian strikes in Syria have hit the moderate Syrian opposition, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East told a congressional committee on Wednesday.
President Barack Obama said on Monday the planned deployment of dozens of U.S. special forces to Syria to advise opposition forces fighting Islamic State did not break his promise not to put \”boots on the ground\” in the Syrian conflict.
The body of the first Russian serviceman confirmed dead in four weeks of air strikes in Syria was delivered on Tuesday to his parents, who said they were not convinced by the military\’s account that their 19-year-old son had hanged himself.
An alliance of Free Syrian Army-related insurgent groups said on Monday it was skeptical about a Russian proposal to help rebels, and that Moscow must stop bombing rebels and civilians and withdraw its support for President Bashar Assad.
The U.N. mediator trying to convene Syria peace talks said on Monday it was urgent for Russia and the United States to reach an understanding to avert a military escalation that could effectively dismember the country.
Secretary of State John Kerry had a 30-minute telephone call with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on Thursday to express concern that Russia\’s targets in Syria were not related to Islamic State.
U.S. officials said four Russian cruise missiles fired at Syria from a warship in the Caspian Sea on Wednesday had crashed in Iran while Russia insisted they had reached their targets in Syria.
Russia ended high-level military talks with Israel on Wednesday with a call on other countries, including a suspicious United States and aggrieved Turkey, to coordinate operations in Syria.
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