News Digest

Russian airstrikes back new Syria regime ground offensive against rebels

A wave of airstrikes by Russian warplanes in Syria has been accompanied by a ground assault by “regime forces”, says a monitoring group. At least four rebel positions have been hit by the attacks, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in what appeared to be the first major coordinated strike since Moscow’s intervention. “Regime forces” is a term the Observatory uses broadly to describe the mix of Syrian military and allied local and foreign militia. The villages of Kafr Zita, Kafr Nabudah, al-Sayyad and al Lataminah in Hama province and the towns of Khan Shaykhun and Alhbit in Idlib, were among those targeted. They are not believed to be IS strongholds, rather held by anti-Assad groups.

If Russia loses a friend like Turkey, with whom it has been co-operating on many issues, it will lose a lot, and it should know that.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

According to the Reuters news agency, the military plan to involve Russia in Syria’s war was formed in July after a visit to Moscow by an Iranian general. Major General Qassem Soleimani’s visit has led to Russian warplanes bombing rebels from above and Iranian special forces taking part in ground operations, reshaping the conflict. Maj Gen Soleimani is the commander of the Quds Force, the elite extra-territorial special forces arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who reports directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Sources have told the news agency he has now been seen supervising ground operations against insurgents in Syria and planning the new Russian- and Iranian-backed offensive.