Syrian Revolution News & Discussions

[BLACKEAGLE]

Since 30 September 2015 Russian air force has performed 60 missions on the territory of Syria.
Starting from September 30, the Russian aviation has performed over 60 sorties on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic to engage over 50 ISIS infrastructural objects. These are command centres, explosives and ammunition depots, communications, mini-plants aimed for production armament for terrorist attacks, training camps of militants.

This satellite image taken on September 20 and released by AllSource Analysis four SU-30 "Flanker" fighters and 12 SU-25 "Frogfoot" fighters can be seen on a runway at the Bassel Al-Assad International Airport in Latakia, Syria.

The strikes have been performed 24 hours a day from the Hmeymim airbase at the full depth of the Syrian territory. It is to be underlined that these efforts resulted in destruction of material and technical basis of terrorists and considerably reduced their combat potential.

Intelligence says that militants are leaving controlled areas. Panic and desertion has started among them. About 600 mercenaries have left their positions and are trying to flee to Europe.

Thus, the Russian air strikes will not only be continued; their intensiveness will be increased.

It is to be mentioned that we have issued notification concerning the start of air operation against ISIS beforehand.

In the morning, on September 30, the American military attaché in Iraq for security Colonel Hadi Petro was one of the first to be notified by General Kuralenko.

Moreover, the foreign colleagues were informed through channels of both Russian Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and were recommended to withdraw all instructors and advisers as well as those people who had been trained with American taxpayers’ money.

It was also recommended to stop flights of aerial vehicles in the action area of the Russian aviation.

By the way, American experts informed us that there was nobody but terrorists in the district.

It is to be reminded that International information centre of Coordination committee has started its work. Everybody who is interested in countering ISIS terrorists have been invited to participate in its work. One of its missions is coordination of actions and any other incidents.

We have openly called for sharing all the useful information concerning the ISIS facilities on the territory of Syria.

Russian Su-30 tactical fighter jets spotted in northern Syria over Hemimim airbase in Latakia.

Twenty-four hours a day UAV's are monitoring the situation in the ISIS activity areas. All the detected targets are effectively engaged day and night in any weather conditions.

Su-34 and Su-24M aircraft of the Russian air grouping in Syria performed over 20 sorties attacking 9 objects of ISIS terrorists.

Accurate delivery of a concrete-piercing bomb BETAB-500 launched from a Su-34 aircraft near Raqqah destroyed a hardened command centre of one of the illegal armed groups as well as an underground bunker with explosives and ammunition depot.

Su-34 tactical bomber engaged an ISIS base near Maarrat Al-Nuuman (Idlib) with a guided air bomb KAB-500 during a pinpoint strike. According to the objective monitoring data, terrorist fortifications, ammunition and POL depots as well as 7 vehicles were destroyed.
Since 30 September 2015 Russian air force has performed 60 missions on the territory of Syria 10410153 | October 2015 Global Defense Security news UK | Defense Security global news industry army 2015

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Analysis by Army Recognition Group of military air power deployed in Syria by Russian Air Force.
The first analysis of Army Recognition Group about Air power deployed by Russian air Force in Syria. All the fighter are located in the Latakia’s airfield in Syria. A total of thirty-four combat aircraft are used by Russian air force to carry out airstrikes against Islamic State fighters.

Technicians at Syria's Hmeimim airport where Russian aircraft are deployed. © Dmitriy Vinogradov / RIA Novosti

The fighter deployed by Russian air Force in Syria are six Su-34 (NATO code Fullback) bomber aircraft, Su-30 (NATO code Flanker-C) twin-engine fighter aircraft, twelve Su-24M (NATO code Fencer) bomber aircraft and twelve Su-25 (NATO code Frogfoot) air-support combat aircraft.

In addition to thirty-four combat aircraft, up to twenty Mi-17s and Mi-24/35s, two Il-20s and at least three types of unmanned aerial vehicles are now deployed in Syria.

The Su-24 front-line attack aircraft/interdictor is manufactured by the Sukhoi Design Bureau Joint Stock Company, based in Moscow, and the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association, Novosibirsk, Russia. The Su-24M entered service in 1983 and is a development of the Su-24, known by the NATO codename "Fencer". The first production Su-24 went airborne on December 31st, 1971. The Su-24 would not be formally accepted into service until February 6th, 1975.
Su-24 Technical data sheet

Su-24 at airfield at Syria's Hmeimim airfield

The Sukhoi Su-25 (NATO reporting name: "Frogfoot") is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. Sukhoi Design Bureau started work to produce the Su-25 attack aircraft in 1968. The new plane was meant for support of troops from directly over the battlefield and was designed to be an extremely easy-to-use and maintain subsonic jet aircraft with superior manoeuvrability and damage control.
Su-25 Technical data sheet

Su-25 at airfield at Syria's Hmeimim airfield

The Sukhoi Su-30 SU-30M (NATO code Flanker-C) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft developed by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions
Su-30SM technical data sheet

Russian air Force Su-30 fighter aircraft

The Sukhoi Su-34 (NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Russian twin-engine, twin-seat strike fighter manufactured by Sukhoi Company. The Su-34 is based on the Su-27 Flanker and is intended to replace the Sukhoi Su-24. The Su-34 multirole aircraft combines the properties of an air superiority fighter, an air-defense suppression aircraft, and a strike aircraft. It can equally defeat diverse aerial, ground, and sea targets.
Su-34 technical data sheet

Su-34 at airfield at Syria's Hmeimim airfield

The Mi-17 is a Russian-made helicopter currently in production at two factories in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. Mi-17 medium twin-turbine multipurpose helicopter is a deep modernization of well-reputed Mi-8 rotorcraft. Its versatility and high performance characteristics made it the most popular helicopter in the world.
Mi-17 technical data sheet

Russian air Force Mi-17 transport helicopter

The Mi-24V/Mi-35 "Hind-E" (export variant) (NATO reporting name: Hind) is a multirole combat helicopter with low-capacity troop transport manufactured by the Russian company Rostverol. It is the result of more than 45 years of research and development, since the first flight of the prototype in 1969. The Mi-24V/Mi-35 entered production in 1976, and nearly 1.500 had been built in Arsenyev and Rostov by 1986.
Mi-34V/Mi-35 technical data sheet

Russian air Force Mi-35 attack helicopter

KAB-500Kr, KAB-500-OD, KAB-1500Kr are guided and corrected air bombs

The KAB-500Kr corrected air bomb is designed to engage stationary ground/surface small-sized hardened targets, such as reinforced concrete shelters, runways, railway and highway bridges, military industrial installations, warships, and transport vessels.

The KAB-500-OD corrected air bomb is designed to engage ground targets, such as fire emplacemnts, and manpower hidden in mountainous terrains.

The KAB-1500Kr corrected air bomb is designed to engage various stationary ground/surface small-sized hardened targets, such as reinforced concrete shelters, military industrial installations, depots, and seaport terminals.

The KAB-500Kr, KAB-500-OD, KAB-1500Kr corrected air bombs are fitted with TV/terrain-matching homing heads and various types of warheads. TV homers with target data processing correlation algorithm can "remember" target location and correct bomb's flight trajectory until the impact on the target, thus realizing the "fire and forget" principle. Such homing heads can help defeat low-contrast and masked targets provided that terrain reference points and target coordinates related to them are available. The KAB-500Kr, KAB-500-OD, KAB-1500Kr corrected air bombs make part of weapon systems of such front-line aircraft types as Su-27, Su-30, Su-34, Su24M, MIG-29 and others.

The delivery set can be completed with the KAB-500Kr-U training bomb used for pilots' mastering combat employment skills for KAB-500Kr, KAB-500-OD and KAB-1500Kr corrected air bombs. The KAB-500Kr-U training bomb parameters are as follows: weight - 85kg, length 1,83m, diameter - 0,35m.

The smart bomb KAB-500OD at MAKS 2009.

The BetAB 500 Concrete Piercing bomb is a thick cased High Explosive blast and fragmentation bomb designed to penetrate re-enforced targets such as bunkers then explode to produce destructive effect through blast overpressure and the fragmentation of the casing.

BetAB 500 Concrete Piercing bomb
Analysis by Army Recognition Group of military air power deployed in Syria by Russian Air Force 10410154 | Syrian syria conflict revolution | analyse focus army defence military industry army

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

In Syria Spotted «Krasuha-4» Russian Mobile Electronic Warfare Systems By Dylan Vosman - Oct 5, 2015 0 2096 Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter In Syria Spotted 1RL257E «Krasuha-4» Russian Mobile Electronic Warfare Systems at Russian airbase in Latakia, Syria.

Mobile electronic warfare systems 1RL257E «Krasuha-4» suppress spy satellites, ground-based radars and airborne systems AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Complex “Krasuha-4” fully covers an object from radar detection at 150-300 kilometers, and may also cause damage to enemy radar electronic warfare and communications systems.

The complex functioning is based on creating powerful jamming at the fundamental radar frequencies and other radio-emitting sources. Manufacturer: Bryansk Electromechanical Plant 1RL257E Krasukha-4 vitalykuzmin.net 1RL257E Krasukha-4 vitalykuzmin.net

Read more at: In Syria Spotted «Krasuha-4» Russian Mobile Electronic Warfare Systems | Defence blog

 

[Redheart]

3,000 terrorists leave Syria following Russian airstrikes – military source — RT News

An estimated 3,000 Islamic State fighters as well as militants from other extremist groups have fled Syria for Jordan fearing a renewed offensive by the Syrian army in addition to Russian airstrikes, a military official has told RIA news agency.

“At least 3,000 militants from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), al-Nusra and Jaish al-Yarmouk have fled to Jordan. They are afraid of the Syrian army having stepped up activities on all fronts and of Russian airstrikes,” the RIA source said.

The official added that on Sunday the Syrian army had carried out a number of attacks on Islamic State and al-Nusra fighters on the outskirts of Damascus as well as in the provinces of Deir ez-Zor and Homs.

In Deir ez-Zor, 160 militants were killed in an army assault that aimed at driving extremists away from several settlements.

In the province of Homs, the army destroyed two IS convoys near the city of Palmyra and 17 terrorists were reported killed in an artillery barrage.

Syrian artillery also attacked several extremist groups, including al-Nusra, in the province of Homs where, according to the military source, a conflict between Syrian and foreign fighters erupted. Syrian militants insisted on retreating from a number of settlements fearing a large-scale offensive by the Syrian army and Russian airstrikes, while the foreigners refused to withdraw.

Russia’s military operation in Syria has provoked a strong reaction from the terrorist groups, Syrian information minister Omran al-Zoubi has said, as cited by the Syrian TV

“Russian airstrikes have led to strong statements from terrorist groups and their backers. At the same time terrorist groups said nothing when the US-led coalition launched its operation,” he said. He also added that the US airstrikes against the IS are not effective as “the coalition wants terrorists to stay in Syria as long as possible”.

Russia launched its military operation against IS and other terrorist groups at the request of the Syrian government on September 30. It has been carrying out airstrikes in close cooperation with the Syrian army to ensure the attacks are maximally effective.

 

[Gasoline]

Sounds the Russians got a warm welcome. Can't wait to see the Stinger playing with their helis and jets.

 

[Redheart]

Over 1,000 Militants Surrender To Syrian Army In Last 24 Hours

Over 1,000 terrorists laid down arms and surrendered to the Syrian authorities over the past 24 hours in Daraa, the Syrian local sources also confirmed.

The militants also turned over their cache of ammo to the authorities, both sources added.

The development came after President Bashar al-Assad in a televised address in July pardoned all soldiers who have fled the army, saying that his words served as a general decree to relevant officials.

Hundreds of gunmen have been laying down their weapons and turning themselves in to authorities in areas across the country.

This number seems to be on the rise as the army has been making steady gains in the battlefield against the terrorist groups, recapturing an increasing number of regions, including strategic sites, which helped cut off many of the militants’ supply routes and forced them to surrender or run away.

Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian air raids destroyed concentration centers of the ISIL, al-Nusra Front and other terrorist groups in Hama and Idlib.

The Syrian warplanes conducted airstrikes against positions of ISIL and the so-called Jeish al-Fath terrorists in the countryside of Hama and Idlib.

The airstrikes hit positions of the ISIL terrorists in al-Rahjan village, 50 km to the Northeast of Hama City, destroying a number of terrorists’ vehicles with all arms, ammunition and equipment on board.

The airstrikes also hit positions of al-Nusra Front and other terrorist groups in Aqrab village in the Southwestern countryside of Hama, killing scores of terrorists.

A number of vehicles belonging to Jeish al-Fath terrorists were also destroyed in airstrikes in Abdin village in the countryside of Ma’aret al-Nu’aman in Idlib countryside.

Meantime, the Syrian fighter jets pounded hideouts of the Takfiri militants in the countryside of Homs.

The Syrian air raids destroyed Takfiri terrorists’ hideouts and vehicles in al-Qaryatain, al-Sa’an, and in the vicinity of al-Sha’er field in Homs countryside.

The Russian air group in Syria is using Kh-29L air-to-surface missiles to conduct airstrikes against the ISIL militants, the Russian military said Sunday.

“A Kh-29L surface-to-air missile is equipped with a semi-active laser guidance system. When the launch is conducted, a pilot illuminates a target with a laser sight. At the same time an aircraft can continue the flight,” Aerospace Forces Spokesman Colonel Igor Klimov said.

lso, the Syrian army conducted military operations against the foreign-backed Takfiri militants in Aleppo province, leaving hundreds of them killed and injured.

Hundreds of terrorists were killed or wounded in Aleppo City and its countryside in the past 24 hours, a military source said.

Elsewhere, at least 28 militant fighters of the ISIL terrorist group were killed during clashes with the Kurdish forces in the Northeastern Syrian province of Hasaka.

“The YPG forces besieged the ISIL militants near Mount Abdulaziz and killed dozens of terrorists and destroyed several vehicles,” a spokesman for the YPG Media Center told ARA News.

Also, gunmen from the Jeish al-Fath coalition of extremist groups are pulling out their forces from Idlib and other towns in Northwestern Syria.

The radical group started moving towards the Turkish border on Saturday after having experienced “the efficiency of the Russian aerospace forces’ strikes,” the As-Safir Arabic-language daily reported.

The coalition is led by al-Nusra terrorist group, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, which is sponsored by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. The group seized the Idlib province this spring.

The report said field commanders fear at any moment the attack of Syrian forces supported by Russian warplanes on the key town of Jisr al-Shugour, on the Lattakia-Aleppo highway.

 

[Gasoline]

Look what happend to Assad's tanks :

1 :



2:


3:


4:


5:



6:





Thanks U.S for making the TOW. It's really help against the Russian junk.

 

[Gasoline]

 

[UAE]

Russia will get humiliated. How soon they forgot what happened to them in Afghanistan.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Top Iranian commander killed in Syria

Hamedani was a veteran of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and was made deputy chief commander of the elite forces in 2005. (File photo: AFP)

By Parisa Hafezi | Ankara, Reuters
Friday, 9 October 2015

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards general has been killed near Aleppo, where he was advising the Syrian army on their battle against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters, the guards said in a statement on Friday.

The Guards said General Hossein Hamedani was killed on Thursday night and that he had “played an important role ... reinforcing the front of Islamic resistance against the terrorists.”

Iran is the main regional ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and has provided military and economic support during Syria’s four-year-old civil war.

Iran denies having any military forces in Syria, but says it has offered “military advice” to Assad’s forces in their fight against “terrorist groups.”

Hamedani was a veteran of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and was made deputy chief commander of the elite forces in 2005.

In the biggest deployment of Iranian forces yet, sources told Reuters last week that hundreds of troops had arrived since late September to take part in a major ground offensive planned in west and northwest Syria.

Iranian lawmaker Esmail Kosari said Hamedani helped coordination between Syrian armed forces and the voluntary forces in their fight against the ISIS militia.

“For years, Hamedani played a very important role in Syria as an adviser ... he played an important role in preventing the fall of Damascus. Then he returned home at the end of his assignment,” Kosari told the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

“He returned to Syria for a few days because of his deep knowledge about the area ... and he was martyred in Syria.”

Assad’s longtime ally, Russia launched its air campaign in September, saying it would also target IS. But its planes have also hit other rebel groups opposed to Assad, including groups backed by Washington.

The United States and its allies have been waging a year-long air campaign against ISIS in Syria, while pushing to diplomatically edge Assad from power.

Washington has ruled out military cooperation with Russia in Syria, accusing Moscow of pursuing a “tragically flawed” strategy that would force it to limit military talks to basic pilot safety.

Last Update: Friday, 9 October 2015 KSA 14:22 - GMT 11:22
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/09/Iranian-Revolutionary-Guards-say-general-killed-in-Syria.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

ISIS ‘advances in Aleppo’ outskirts

Advances marks ISIS' biggest gains in the area since late August and brought them within 2km of a government-held industrial zone on the northern edge of Aleppo. (Reuters)

By Reuters | Beirut
Friday, 9 October 2015

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters have captured several Syrian villages from rival insurgents near Aleppo, a monitoring group said on Friday, despite Russian air strikes that Moscow says have targeted the hardline group.

Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syria Observatory for Human Rights, said ISIS forces had taken over villages including Tel Suseen and Tel Qarah from other rebels groups just outside the city.

The advance, which he said marked their biggest gains in the area since late August, brought them within 2km of a government-held industrial zone on the northern edge of Aleppo, the largest city in north Syria.

Russian jets and warships have been bombarding targets across Syria for 10 days in a campaign which Moscow says is aimed at the Islamic State fighters who control large parts of north and east Syria, as well as swathes of neighboring Iraq.

But many Russian strikes have taken place in areas of western Syria held by other insurgent groups, and Western leaders have accused Russia of intervening primarily to support President Bashar al-Assad.

Abdulrahman said he believed only 10 percent of the Russian strikes had hit ISIS targets.

Supported by the Russian air campaign, Syrian troops and allied militias have launched an offensive against rebels in the Ghab Plain and other parts of the northern province of Hama, where Abdulrahman said clashes continued late into Thursday night.

Last Update: Friday, 9 October 2015 KSA 10:52 - GMT 07:52
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/09/ISIS-advances-in-Aleppo-outskirts.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Russian cruise missile strikes fired without advanced notice: U.S.

The Russian Navy’s large landing ship Novocherkassk sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey. (Reuters)

By Reuters, Brussels
Thursday, 8 October 2015

Russia fired cruise missiles at Syrian targets this week without giving any advanced notice, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Thursday, describing a trend of unpredictable military action that has put the United States and its allies on edge.

“We’ve seen increasingly unprofessional behavior from Russian forces. They violated Turkish airspace ... They shot cruise missiles from the Caspian sea without warning,” Carter said after NATO defense talks in Brussels.

Moscow said on Wednesday its warships fired a barrage of missiles at Syrian targets from the Caspian Sea, passing a distance of almost 1,500 km (900 miles) over Iran and Iraq to reach their targets.

A U.S.-led coalition is carrying out air strikes against Islamic State militants in both Iraq and Syria, a campaign that Washington has vowed will continue despite Russia’s escalating military activity in Syria.

The United States has acknowledged that U.S.-led coalition aircraft bombing Islamist militants in Syria were re-routed at least once to avoid a close encounter with Russian planes. Carter said Russian aircraft came within a few miles of a U.S. drone.

The United States, which opposes Russia’s backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has ruled out any military cooperation with Russia in Syria.

But the Pentagon is seeking to work out an agreement with Moscow on operating procedures to ensure pilot safety.

Last Update: Thursday, 8 October 2015 KSA 20:16 - GMT 17:16
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/08/Russian-cruise-missile-strikes-fired-without-advanced-notice-U-S-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Clashes between Russia-backed Syria army, rebels

Frame grab shows shows Russian warships sailing in the Caspian Sea. (Reuters)

By Agencies
Thursday, 8 October 2015

The Syrian army, backed by Russian air strikes, fought heavy battles with insurgents for control of a hilltop close to President Bashar al-Assad's coastal heartland, a monitor and rebels said on Thursday.

The fighting was centered around Jub al Ahmar, a highland area in Latakia province which if captured would allow the army to more effectively pound rebel positions from the Ghab Plain that it overlooks, said Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“Fighting has been intensifying in the vicinity of the strategic Jub al Ahmar heights with some progress by the army but no decisive gains so far,” Abdulrahman told Reuters.

The army announced on Thursday it had extended a major offensive to the Plain area whose capture from rebel groups, including al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front would help secure Assad’s coastal heartlands and could provide a platform to drive the rebels back from other areas.

The rebels thrust into the area in late July after seizing much of the northwestern province of Idlib.

Rebel sources also said the army aided by Russian jets shelled the insurgent held town of Salma, which located northeast of Latakia and is a major frontline between rebels and government forces.

“This area is shelled daily but we have not seen this intensity before with heavy mortars and artillery and Russian bombing of our positions,” said Abu Ibrahim al Hifnawi, a rebel from Ahrar al Sham insurgent group.

27 targets hit in Homs, Hama, Raqqa
Meanwhile, Russia’s air force hit 27 “terrorist” targets in Syria overnight, the defence ministry said, as Moscow ramped up its campaign in the war-torn country.

“Russian warplanes conducted 22 sorties overnight. The crews of Sukhoi Su-34, Sukhoi Su-24M and Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft struck 27 terrorist targets on Syrian territory,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

Eight strongholds destroyed
The ministry said it had destroyed eight ISIS strongholds near populated areas in the Homs province, and hit 11 training camps affiliated with the jihadist group in the Hama and Raqqa provinces.

“As a result of the strikes, the infrastructure used for the training of terrorists has been destroyed,” the statement said.

The Russian military also claimed it had struck underground hideouts used by militants near the villages of Salma and Arafit, located in the coastal Latakia province.

Moscow launched its bombing campaign in Syria last week, firing missiles from fighter jets and warships in the Caspian Sea, at targets it says belong to IS and other "terrorist" groups.

The Syrian army says it has launched a "vast offensive" with Russian air cover, lending weight to fears from the US and its allies that Moscow's intervention aims mainly to bolster its long-standing ally President Bashar al-Assad.

First major coordinated assault
Wednesday’s operation in Hama appeared to be the first major assault coordinated between Syrian troops and militia on the ground, and Russian warplanes and naval ships.

The Ghab Plain, also in Hama, lies next to a mountain range that forms the heartland of Assad’s Alawite sect.

Recapturing it from the alliance of rebel groups, including al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front which thrust into the area in late July, would help secure Assad’s coastal heartlands and could provide a platform to drive the rebels back from other areas.

A fighter from the Ajnad al-Sham insurgent group who uses the name Abu al-Baraa al-Hamawi told Reuters that Russian jets had been bombing since dawn. It was not the first time the Russians had bombed the area, but this was their most ferocious attack, he said, speaking via an Internet messaging service.

“There is an attempt by the regime to advance but the situation is under our control,” he said.

“God willing we will repeat the massacre of the north Hama countryside as happened yesterday,” Hamawi added, referring to the strikes on the tanks. “We have faced more violent attacks than this in the past.”

Russian air strikes started last week and have mostly focused in areas of western Syria where Assad has sought to shore up his control after losing swathes of the rest of the country to insurgents including ISIS.

Russia says it is fighting ISIS in Syria. But while the group has been the target of some of its air strikes, it has no foothold in the areas of western Syria targeted in the attacks on Wednesday and Thursday.

Neighboring Turkey has been angered by violations of its air space by Russian warplanes and NATO said it was prepared to send troops to Turkey to defend its ally.

“NATO is ready and able to defend all allies, including Turkey against any threats,” NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters as he arrived for a meeting in Brussels of the alliance’s defence ministers which is likely to be dominated by the war in Syria.

“NATO has already responded by increasing our capacity, our ability, our preparedness to deploy forces including to the south, including in Turkey,” he said, adding that Russia’s air and cruise missile strikes were “reasons for concern.”

Russia’s involvement had only served to make the conflict more dangerous, British defence minister Michael Fallon said, and he urged Russia to use its influence to stop the Assad government from bombing civilians.

Reacting to the Russian air space violations, Turkey meanwhile told Russia there were other places it could obtain natural gas and other countries that could build its first nuclear plant.

“We can’t accept the current situation. Russia’s explanations on the air space violations are not convincing,” President Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish newspapers.

(With Reuters, AFP)

Last Update: Thursday, 8 October 2015 KSA 19:49 - GMT 16:49
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/08/Russian-warships-join-air-campaign-in-Syria.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Coalition aircraft re-routed to avoid Russians in Syria: U.S.

The incident involved two F-16 fighter jets that were forced to abort a bombing sortie over Syria in order to remain within safe distance of the Russian planes, according to a U.S. defense official. (File photo: AP)

By AFP | Washington
Thursday, 8 October 2015

Coalition aircraft have been re-routed on at least one occasion to avoid a close encounter with Russian warplanes over Syria, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.

“We have an instance, at least, where there’s been action taken to make sure we didn’t have an unsafe separation” distance, Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

The incident involved two F-16 fighter jets that were forced to abort a bombing sortie over Syria in order to remain within safe distance of the Russian planes, according to a U.S. defense official.

“They had to abort striking the target,” said the official.

Davis said coalition air operations over Iraq and Syria continue and the effort to avoid Russian warplanes was not interfering with their broader mission.

But he said, “We have taken measures to re-route aircraft as necessary when there is an air issue where we might be getting close.”

Earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter denied that the United States had proposed to Moscow coordinating their air strikes.

“What we will do is continue basic, technical discussions on the professional safety procedures for our pilots flying above Syria,” Carter told reporters in Rome.

“That’s it. We will keep the channel open because it’s a matter of safety for our pilots.”

U.S. and Russian officials held discussions last week -- at Russia’s request -- on establishing measures to avoid accidents so warplanes flying over Syria would not be in the same place at the same time.

For want of such a mechanism, the U.S. defense official said the coalition has put in place “its own set of air safety rules.”

The F-16 pilots, who had taken off from Incirlik air base in Turkey, took the decision to abort based on those rules.

The so-called “deconfliction” talks came after Russia started bombing in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, further complicating the four-and-a-half-year conflict.

But despite Russian violations of Turkish air space at the weekend, Moscow has not participated in further talks -- frustrating U.S. military officials who had made repeated overtures.

Last Update: Thursday, 8 October 2015 KSA 00:40 - GMT 21:40
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/08/Coalition-aircraft-re-routed-to-avoid-Russians-in-Syria-U-S-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Hollande: Failure in Syria risks ‘total war’ for region

French President Francois Hollande addresses the European Parliament as German Chancellor Angela Merkel listens during a debate in Strasbourg. (Reuters)

Staff writer, Al Arabiya News
Wednesday, 7 October 2015

Failure to act in Syria risks stoking a “total war” in the Middle East, French President Francois Hollande said in a landmark speech to the European Parliament alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“What happens in Syria concerns Europe, what happens there will determine the balance of the whole region for a long time,” Hollande told European lawmakers in Strasbourg.

“If we leave these religious clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, they will grow. Don’t think we will be sheltered, this will be a total war.”

Hollande, whose country has launched air strikes against ISIS in Syria, appeared to criticize Russia for its air attacks in support of President Bashar al-Assa’'s regime.

“We have to construct in Syria, with all those who can contribute, a political future which gives the Syrian people an alternative to Bashar or Daesh,” Hollande said, using another name for ISIS.

Hollande and Merkel were giving the first joint speech to the European Parliament by the leaders of France and Germany since Francois Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl in 1989.

FSA, Assad army alliance ‘not French idea’
In a related story, Hollande did not suggest forming an alliance between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and the moderate opposition Free Syrian Army, an aide said Wednesday, contradicting comments by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

“The president spoke of the necessary presence of the Syrian opposition around a future negotiating table. The rest is not a French idea,” a member of Hollande’s entourage told reporters in Strasbourg.

The aide dismissing the news came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a joint television appearance on Wednesday that Hollande had voiced the idea of uniting forces loyal to Assad and the so-called Free Syrian Army to fight ISIS.

France has repeatedly said that once a political transition has occurred and Assad has gone, government troops and moderate rebels would need to join forces to defeat ISIS.

(With AFP and Reuters)

Last Update: Wednesday, 7 October 2015 KSA 17:20 - GMT 14:20
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/07/Aide-FSA-Assad-army-alliance-not-French-idea-.html