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Target Syria NWO's next acquisition The Middle East- WW III - Muslim Civil War

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March 27, 2024, 12:55:24 pm Mark says: Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked  When Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida began a speech marking the 100th day of the war in Gaza, one confounding yet eye-opening proclamation escaped the headlines. Listing the motives for the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, he accused Jews of "bringing red cows" to the Holy Land.
December 31, 2022, 10:08:58 am NilsFor1611 says: blessings
August 08, 2018, 02:38:10 am suzytr says: Hello, any good churches in the Sacto, CA area, also looking in Reno NV, thanks in advance and God Bless you Smiley
January 29, 2018, 01:21:57 am Christian40 says: It will be interesting to see what happens this year Israel being 70 years as a modern nation may 14 2018
October 17, 2017, 01:25:20 am Christian40 says: It is good to type Mark is here again!  Smiley
October 16, 2017, 03:28:18 am Christian40 says: anyone else thinking that time is accelerating now? it seems im doing days in shorter time now is time being affected in some way?
September 24, 2017, 10:45:16 pm Psalm 51:17 says: The specific rule pertaining to the national anthem is found on pages A62-63 of the league rulebook. It states: “The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. “During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”
September 20, 2017, 04:32:32 am Christian40 says: "The most popular Hepatitis B vaccine is nothing short of a witch’s brew including aluminum, formaldehyde, yeast, amino acids, and soy. Aluminum is a known neurotoxin that destroys cellular metabolism and function. Hundreds of studies link to the ravaging effects of aluminum. The other proteins and formaldehyde serve to activate the immune system and open up the blood-brain barrier. This is NOT a good thing."
http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-11-new-fda-approved-hepatitis-b-vaccine-found-to-increase-heart-attack-risk-by-700.html
September 19, 2017, 03:59:21 am Christian40 says: bbc international did a video about there street preaching they are good witnesses
September 14, 2017, 08:06:04 am Psalm 51:17 says: bro Mark Hunter on YT has some good, edifying stuff too.
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Author Topic: Target Syria NWO's next acquisition The Middle East- WW III - Muslim Civil War  (Read 44509 times)
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« Reply #960 on: October 07, 2015, 07:49:16 am »

'We are seeking bigger role for Russia than Americans' - Iraq defense committee chairman

Baghdad, Russia’s ally in its fight against ISIS, wants Russia to have a bigger role in the anti-terrorist campaign in Iraq than the US and may soon officially request to start airstrikes on its soil, the chairman of Iraqi parliament’s defense committee said.
https://www.rt.com/news/317853-iraq-russia-airstrikes-isis/


How Iranian general plotted out Syrian assault in Moscow

At a meeting in Moscow in July, a top Iranian general unfurled a map of Syria to explain to his Russian hosts how a series of defeats for President Bashar al-Assad could be turned into victory - with Russia's help.   
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/06/us-mideast-crisis-syria-soleimani-insigh-idUSKCN0S02BV20151006


Breaking: Russia Fires 112 Missiles at ISIS Targets in Syria
The Russian defense minister says that his country's ships in the Caspian Sea have launched 112 missile strikes against ISIS targets in Syria.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/338195


Russian warplanes in Syria destroy U.S.-trained rebels' weapons depots: commander

Russian air strikes have destroyed the main weapons depots of a U.S.-trained rebel group in Syria, their commander said on Wednesday... The Liwa Suqour al-Jabal, whose fighters have attended military training organized by the Central Intelligence Agency in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, was also hit last week by Russian raids as Moscow began its air campaign in support of Damascus.   
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/07/us-mideast-crisis-syria-rebels-idUSKCN0S111020151007


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« Reply #961 on: October 07, 2015, 02:09:27 pm »

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=36260
HERE COMES CHINA: BEIJING SENDING TROOPS TO JOIN RUSSIAN WAR IN SYRIA
Geoffrey Grider | October 7, 2015 | 7 Comments

ACCORDING TO THE RUSSIAN SENATOR IGOR MOROZOV, BEIJING HAS TAKEN DECISION TO TAKE PART IN COMBATING IS AND SENT ITS VESSELS TO THE SYRIAN COAST.

“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.” Revelation 16:12 (KJV)

The following was translated from the Russian news site Pravda: Igor Morozov, member of the Russian Federation Committee on International Affairs claimed about the beginning of the military operation by China against the IS terrorists. “It is known, that China has joined our military operation in Syria, the Chinese cruiser has already entered the Mediterranean, aircraft carrier follows it,” Morozov said.

china-sends-j-15-fighter-jets-to-join-russia-in-syria-iran

According to him, Iran may soon join the operation carried out by Russia against the IS terrorists, via Hezbollah. Thus, the Russian coalition in the region gains ground, and most reasonable step of the US would be to join it. Although the stance of Moscow and Washington on the ways of settlement of the Syrian conflict differs, nonetheless, low efficiency of the US coalition acts against terrorists is obvious. Islamists have just strengthened their positions.

As Leonid Krutakov told Pravda.Ru in an interview, the most serious conflict is currently taking place namely between China and the US. Moscow may support any party, the expert believes, and that is what will change the world order for many years. source

This article first appear on Pravda on September 29, 2015, and since that time Iran’s participation has been 100% confirmed. Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, has sent hundreds of ground soldiers into Syria in the past few days apparently in cooperation with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, said a senior Israeli security official Thursday.

Breitbart New has also confirmed reports of Chinese participation in the ongoing Russian war in Syria.

Looks like the “kings of the East” are waking up.
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« Reply #962 on: October 07, 2015, 05:55:52 pm »

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=36272
RUSSIAN WARSHIPS JOINED THE CONFLICT IN SYRIA WITH A VOLLEY OF CRUISE MISSILE ATTACKS ON ISLAMIC STATE AS SYRIAN GOVERNMENT TROOPS LAUNCHED A MAJOR GROUND OFFENSIVE SUPPORTED BY MOSCOW AIR STRIKES.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Vladimir Putin in televised remarks that four ships based 900 miles away in the Caspian Sea had launched 26 missiles – and claimed they would strike 11 ISIS targets. Video released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows the warships launching the missiles which Shoigu insisted destroyed all the targets and did not hit any civilian areas.

russia-launches-cruise-missiles-syria-isis-israel-nteb
Bombardment: Footage released from the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Russian navy ship launching a cruise missile in the Caspian Sea at what Moscow said were Islamic State targets in Syria

Moscow’s defence ministry said the attacks were launched from warships Dagestan, Uglich, Grad Sviyazhsk and Veliky Ustyug. The cruise missiles ‘engaged all the assigned targets successfully and with high accuracy’ said one Russian media report, giving no further details.

It came as Syrian government troops launched a ground offensive Wednesday in the country’s central region under cover of Russian airstrikes, a Damascus official said.   The latest developments – exactly a week after Russia began launching airstrikes in Syria – add a new layer to the fray in the complex war that has torn this Mideast country apart since 2011.

Moscow has mainly targeted central and northwestern Syria, strategic regions that are the gateway to President Bashar Assad’s strongholds in Damascus, and along the Mediterranean coast.

But the strikes appear to have given Assad new confidence to try to retake some lost ground. source
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« Reply #963 on: October 09, 2015, 12:02:31 pm »

AS RUSSIA BOMBS SYRIA, OBAMA PULLS US AIRCRAFT CARRIER OUT OF PERSIAN GULF
Geoffrey Grider | October 9, 2015 | 9 Comments

AS RUSSIAN WARSHIPS RAIN DOWN CRUISE MISSILES AS PART OF ITS MILITARY STRIKE IN SYRIA, THERE’S NOW A GLARING ABSENCE IN THE REGION: FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2007, THE U.S. NAVY HAS NO AIRCRAFT CARRIER IN THE PERSIAN GULF.

EDITOR’S NOTE: With each passing day, it becomes increasingly more obvious that the Muslim-raised Obama is intentionally staying out of the rapidly-changing situation in the Middle East to allow Russia to continue to dominate the scene. By ordering home the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the United States will have no aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf for the first time since 2007. Did you think that you would ever live to see the day where America would lay down powerlessly before our enemies? That day is today, welcome to Obama’s America.

Military officials said Thursday that they’ve pulled the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is home to about 5,000 service members and 65 combat planes. The ship officially exited the gulf around 11 p.m. ET. The “temporary measure” is also the result of mandatory budget cuts.

uss-theodore-roosevelt-pulled-from-middle-east-persian-gulf-as-russia-bombs-syria-obama-traitor-big-stick
The USS Theodore Roosevelt — a massive, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier — has had a central role in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria since August 2014, when the U.S.-led coalition started bombing the Islamist extremists.
The lack of a U.S. presence in the gulf comes as Russia is escalating its actions in the region and began pounding targets in Syria last week with airstrikes. Russian officials say they’re trying to obliterate ISIS, although the U.S. and its allies say they’re instead hitting rebel fighters who oppose Syrian President Bashar Assad, a Russian ally.

RUSSIA REMAINS A WILD CARD IN THE REGION — AND THE ABSENCE OF AN AMERICAN AIRCRAFT CARRIER IS BEING NOTICED, SAID PETER DALY, A RETIRED NAVY VICE ADMIRAL AND CEO OF THE U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE.

“The most important thing you need a carrier for is for what you don’t know is going to happen next,” Daly told NBC News.

That was especially important during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, when the Navy often had two carriers operating in the region. The combat planes can fly into war zones and generally act as a show of force to Iran and other nations during tense standoffs.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt — a massive, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier — has had a central role in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria since August 2014, when the U.S.-led coalition started bombing the Islamist extremists.

A Navy official told Washington lawmakers in July that the lack of a carrier was imminent — and could potentially hamstring operations.

“Without that carrier, there will be a detriment to our capability there,” Adm. John Richardson said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, prior to his confirmation in the Navy’s top post. source
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« Reply #964 on: October 09, 2015, 01:10:21 pm »

DASVIDANIYA, COMRADE! BARACK OBAMA ORDERS PULLOUT FROM SYRIA
10/9/15
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ENDS PENTAGON PROGRAM TO TRAIN SYRIAN REBELS

“..part of peoples’ concern is just the sense that around the world the old order isn’t holding and we’re not quite yet to where we need to be in terms of a new order that’s based on a different set of principles,” Barack Obama, July 22, 2014 source

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you want to be kind, you could say that Obama was outmaneuvered by a superior political and military strategist, Vladimir Putin. If you want to be mean, you could say that the little community organizer from Chicago was no match for the very manly, former KGB agent from Russia. If you want to be truthful, however, you would have to say that this is exactly what you would expect from a Muslim-raised, anti-Christian, anti-American, New World Order puppet president who is Hell-bent on betraying and destroying America.

LONDON — The Obama administration has ended the Pentagon’s $500 million program to train and equip Syrian rebels, administration officials said on Friday, in an acknowledgment that the beleaguered program had failed to produce any kind of ground combat forces capable of taking on the Islamic State in Syria.

obama-pulls-out-of-syria-after-hardline-attacks-by-russia-putin-wins
Everything accomplished by Ronald Reagan has just officially been undone.
Pentagon officials announced the end of the program on Friday, as Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter left London after meetings with his British counterpart, Michael Fallon, about the continuing wars in Syria and Iraq.

“Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is now directing the Department of Defense to provide equipment packages and weapons to a select group of vetted leaders and their units so that over time they can make a concerted push into territory still controlled by ISIL,” a Pentagon statement said, using another acronym for the Islamic State. “We will monitor the progress these groups make and provide them with air support as they take the fight to ISIL.”

A senior defense official said that the remaining training “will be much more minimal” than the ambitious program that was launched by the Pentagon and that the training would concentrate only on the “vetting of key leaders of groups we’ve identified in Syria who are fighting ISIL.”

The shift in strategy comes amid a huge deployment of force by Russia in support of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, who has clung to power since the civil war began in 2011. Russian warplanes have conducted scores of airstrikes, and Moscow has fired a barrage of cruise missiles at targets in Syria. source

And the really sad, scary and frightening part of all this is that Putin has only been doing airstrikes for a week and a half. 10 days, that’s all the time it took for Obama to fold and call it quits.

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=36309
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« Reply #965 on: October 09, 2015, 04:27:31 pm »

Syria and Iraq have been hostile to the West throughout history, since ancient times. At the end of WW1 instead of gaining freedom after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire Syria was forcibly added to the French Empire and Iraq forcibly added to the British Empire. It all would have worked out ok had there not been another World War. WW2 ended with America working against France,England and the Netherlands. What I mean is America prevented them all by the power of economics and propaganda from recovering their former military and political strength. Thusly Syria and Iraq secured their independence and resumed their historical position as enemies of the West as America bullied its way into its position as sole leader of the Western World.

They were both allied with the USSR during the cold war and the idea that America could change the nature of these countries by military force and the slaughter of their civilians is reckless foolishness.
The whole thing is a waste. Afghanistan too, a waste.

The West can`t lose something it never had. What has been accomplished is these countries have been so weakened at a cost of trillions of dollars that they are now going to become puppets of Moscow without the independent confidence they had when WW2 ended. They were always going to be allied with the east, America only ensured that they would be used as sacrificial pawns. The west hasn`t lost anything. This is just the end of a very expensive exercise in futility.

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« Reply #966 on: October 13, 2015, 11:17:02 am »

WWIII HAS BEGUN: CHINESE WARPLANES JOIN THEIR RUSSIAN COUNTERPARTS IN DEVASTATING AIR RAIDS AGAINST ISIS TERRORISTS

China has told Moscow that they will join in the bombing in Syria from their Aircraft Carrier. This has HUGE implications folks. HUGE!

It is a well-known fact that the Nation of Iran today has two chief allies, Russia and China. They have stood by Iran through the thick and thin especially with controlling interest as permanent members of the United Nation’s Security Council. Without Russian and China, Shiite Iran would have been history decades ago.

Today again, they are proving that they will be prepared to stand in opposition to the United States and NATO because all four are vying for world dominion.  So also the rest of the world’s prophetic nations are aligning themselves either for or again either of two global forces.

China To Join Russian Air Strikes In Syria, Russia Gains Iraq Air Base
BELGRADE – DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report that China sent word to Moscow on Friday, October 2, that J-15 fighter bombers would shortly join the Russian air campaign that was launched Wednesday, September 30. Baghdad has moreover offered Moscow an air base for targeting the Islamic State now occupying large swathes of Iraqi territory, debka.com reports.

The J-15 warplanes will take off from the Chinese Liaoning-CV-16 aircraft carrier, which reached Syrian shores on September 26, according to DEBKAfile. This will be a landmark event for Beijing: its first military operation in the Middle East as well the carrier’s first taste of action in conditions of real combat.

Thursday night, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, made this comment on the Syrian crisis at a UN Security Council session in New York: “The world cannot afford to stand by and look on with folded arms, but must also not arbitrarily interfere (in the crisis).”

A no less significant development occurred at about the same time when Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, speaking to the US PBS NewsHour, said he would welcome a deployment of Russian troops to Iraq to fight ISIS forces in his country too. As an added incentive, he noted that this would also give Moscow the chance to deal with the 2,500 Chechen Muslims whom, he said, are fighting with ISIS in Iraq.

DEBKAfile’s military sources add that Al-Abadi’s words came against the backdrop of two events closely related to Russia’s expanding role in the war arena:

1.  A joint Russian-Iranian-Syrian-Iraqi war room has been working since last week out of the Iraqi Defense Ministry and military staff headquarters in Baghdad to coordinate the passage of Russian and Iranian airlifts to Syria and also Russian air raids. This command center is also organizing the transfer of Iranian and pro-Iranian Shiite forces into Syria.

2.  Baghdad and Moscow have just concluded a deal for the Russian air force to start using the Al Taqaddum Air Base at Habbaniyah, 74 km west of Baghdad, both as a way station for the Russian air corridor to Syria and as a launching-pad for bombing missions against ISIS forces and infrastructure in northern Iraq and northern Syria.

Russia has thus gained a military enclave in Iraq, just as it has in Syria, where it has taken over a base outside Latakia on the western coast of Syria. At the same time, the Habbaniyah air base also serves US forces operating in Iraq, which number an estimated 5,000.

http://www.allselfsustained.com/wwiii-has-begun-chinese-warplanes-join-their-russian-counterparts-in-devastating-air-raids-against-isis-terrorists/
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« Reply #967 on: October 15, 2015, 06:15:08 am »

Russia Targets U.S.-Backed Forces In Syria While Administration Tries to Finalize 'Memorandum of Understanding'
Maybe Kerry should ride a bike or something.


Fox News reported on Wednesday that Russia is deliberately attacking American interests and our forces in Syria, and that our government knows it. What are we doing about it? Attempting to finalize a "memorandum of understanding," according to CNN.

From Fox News:

But even as they try to "de-conflict," evidence is mounting that Russia's air campaign is targeting more than just the Islamic State. "Putin is deliberately targeting our forces," a U.S. official, who is disappointed in the U.S. response to Russia, told Fox News.

"Our guys are fighting for their lives," said the official, estimating up to 150 CIA-trained moderate rebels have been killed by the Russians.

“Striking ISIL continues to be the least of Moscow’s priorities in Syria, said a U.S. intelligence official who also warned Putin might not look so tough if a Russian helicopter were downed or some Russian soldiers captured.

Meanwhile, Russia and the United States state they are on the verge of finalizing a "memorandum of understanding. from CNN:

he United States and Russia are in the process of finalizing a memorandum of understanding regarding safety over Syrian airspace, a U.S. official told CNN Wednesday.

[...]

Both Russia and the United States "have a consensus on the technical aspects" of how parties to the agreement will conduct themselves to assure the safety of their pilots, but they still have some final details over the wording of the agreement to work out, the official said.

That development came the same day that U.S. and Russian defense officials held their third video conference aimed at reaching an understanding governing aerial operations since Russian military jets began their own bombing campaign in Syria.

And AFP reports:

Russia said Wednesday that one of its fighter jets had approached a U.S.-led coalition warplane in Syrian airspace for identification purposes. U.S. Col. Steven Warren, spokesman of the U.S.-led coalition, had said earlier that the planes had come “miles apart” on Saturday, prompting fears that crowded skies over Syria could lead to mid-air collisions.

President Obama and Josh Earnest have been fond of repeating the surpassingly silly idea that Russia is approaching this conflict from "a position of weakness." But with U.S. forces under fire, and our own planes under threat, our best answer is to give way and struggle to get an unenthusiastic Russia to deign to signing our memorandum of rose petals and rainbows. As the bullets, bombs, and jets fly, who is really in the position of weakness here?

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/russia-targets-us-backed-forces-syria-while-administration-tries-finalize-memorandum
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« Reply #968 on: October 18, 2015, 06:36:42 pm »

Report: Russia blocks Israeli jets over Lebanon
Lebanese newspaper claims Israeli jets turn back after confrontation with Russian aircraft over northern Lebanon.


Russian forces warned Israel over IAF flights in Russian controlled airspace near the Syrian–Lebanese border area after Israeli jets were detected nearby, according to a report Friday in the Lebanese media outlet As Safir.
 
The report comes a mere day after Russia announced that it had established a "hotline" with Israel in order to coordinate aerial activity over Lebanon and Syria.

As Safir quoted Lebanese diplomatic officials who were "in the know," as saying that the warning was issued after Russian radar identified Israeli aircraft approaching Russian-controlled airspace two weeks ago.

"Russian aircraft immediately blocked the Israeli jets' path while they flew above the Akkar region in northern Lebanon. The Russians immediately sent a clear warning to the Israelis that entering Syrian airspace would be a pretext for opening fire," the source said.
 
According to the paper, which is considered loyal to Hezbollah, the Israeli aircraft quickly heeded the warnings and changed their course. The incident occurred mere days after talks were held between Israeli and Russian officials regarding the shared airspace. The report claimed that the Russian message instructed the Israelis to stay away from Syrian airspace.

Lebanese officials quoted in the report said that Israeli aircraft typically fly over northern Lebanon on a daily basis, "and tended to fly on a path above the Akkar region, later conducting reconnaissance in a circular pattern above the Lebanese territorial waters, eventually reaching the Syrian territorial waters."
 
The report quoted an official as saying that, "Their goal was to observe the movement of ships in the port of Tartus, as well as tracking the air traffic coming in an out of Latika airport – out of concern over possible weapons transfers to Hezbollah."

The same official claimed that the Lebanese army had noticed a decline in Israeli over flights since the warning was issued on the first of October, but clarified that flights in the area remained ongoing.
 

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4712443,00.html
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« Reply #969 on: October 18, 2015, 06:38:51 pm »

Turkey threatens to SHOOT DOWN Putin's planes as it drags West closer to war with Russia

TURKEY'S Prime Minister has risked launching World War 3 between the West and Russia after threatening to SHOOT DOWN Putin's war planes in the country's air space.

The deadly threat comes just a day after the NATO member, which holds the Western alliance's second largest army, shot down a mysterious unidentified drone near its border with Syria.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has since ratcheted up the war rhetoric as the chaotic conflict in Syria threatens to spill over into Turkey and beyond.

Syrian, Russian and U.S-led coalition aircraft are flying combat missions close to Turkey's borders as part of the ongoing Syrian conflict against Islamic State.

The Syrian air strikes mean that Russian and NATO planes are now flying combat missions in the same air space for the first time since World War Two, raising fears that the Cold War enemies could risk a proxy war.

Friday's drone incident highlights the danger that Turkey could be drawn into a military confrontation with Russia and force the rest of NATO, including Britain, into war with it.

The Turkish military said it shot down the unmanned aircraft after it continued on its course despite three warnings.

Turkish military claimed that the drone was shot down in accordance to NATO member's rules of engagement.

The drone is believed to have encroached more than 2 miles into Turkish air space before it was brought down.

The country's military had already complained earlier this month about suspicious warplanes violating its air space along the border with Syria.

However, senior government officials have now escalated the situation by insisting they would "not hesitate" to use force against any nation's military might.

The defiant pledge has sparked fears that Turkey would not discriminate and could risk even waging war with the US.

Prime Minister Davutoglu said: "We downed a drone yesterday.

"If it was a plane we'd do the same. Our rules of engagement are known.

"Whoever violates our borders, we will give them the necessary answer."

Turkey is still investigating the nationality of the suspect drone.

A senior US official blamed the drone on the Russians - a claim the Russian defense ministry vehemently denies.

A Russian minister insisted that all of its planes in Syria had safely returned to base at the time od the incident and that all its drones were operating "as planned".

The Russian Defence Ministry also clarified it had established direct contact with the Turkish military to avoid dangerous incidents with flights near the border.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/612828/Turkey-threatens-shoot-down-Putin-s-planes-drags-West-war-Russia
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« Reply #970 on: October 21, 2015, 11:00:15 am »

http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-assad-met-putin-moscow-discuss-military-campaign-064706283--business.html
Assad flies to Moscow to thank Putin for Syria air strikes
10/21/15

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flew to Moscow on Tuesday evening to thank Russia's Vladimir Putin personally for his military support, in a surprise visit that underlined how Russia has become a major player in the Middle East.

It was Assad's first foreign visit since the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011, and came three weeks after Russia launched a campaign of air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria that has also bolstered Assad's forces.

The Kremlin, which said it had invited Assad to visit Moscow, kept the visit quiet until Wednesday morning, broadcasting a meeting between the two men in the Kremlin and releasing a transcript of an exchange they had.

Putin said he hoped progress on the military front would be followed by moves towards a political solution in Syria, bolstering Western hopes Moscow will use its increased influence on Damascus to cajole Assad into talking to his opponents.

Assad's confidence is likely to be boosted by the visit, which comes as his forces wage counteroffensives in western Syria against insurgents backed by Assad's foreign opponent, as well as Islamic State militants.

"First of all I wanted to express my huge gratitude to the whole leadership of the Russian Federation for the help they are giving Syria," Assad told Putin.

"If it was not for your actions and your decisions the terrorism which is spreading in the region would have swallowed up a much greater area and spread over an even greater territory."

Russian officials have repeatedly said they have no special loyalty for the Syrian leader, but his audience with Putin will be seen in the West as yet another sign the Kremlin wants Assad to be part of any political solution, at least initially.

The visit also suggests that Russia, and not longtime ally Iran, has now emerged as Assad's most important foreign friend.

Russian state TV made the meeting its top news item, showing Assad, dressed in a dark blue suit, talking to Putin, together with the Russian foreign and defense ministers.

The Kommersant daily cited unnamed sources saying meetings between the two delegations had lasted over three hours. The Syrian presidency Twitter account said Assad and Putin held three rounds of talks - one of them a closed meeting and the other two including Russia's foreign and defense ministers.

The Kremlin has cast its intervention in Syria, its biggest in the Middle East since the 1991 Soviet collapse, as a common sense move designed to roll back international terrorism in the face of what it says is ineffective action from Washington.

It is likely to use Assad's visit to buttress its domestic narrative that its air campaign is just and effective and to underline its assertion that its actions show it has shaken off the Ukraine crisis to become a serious global player.

Russia has a combined force of around 50 jets and helicopters in Latakia protected by Russian marines. It also has military trainers and advisers working with the Syrian army.

Russia's air force says it has flown over 700 sorties against more than 690 targets in Syria since Sept. 30.

Assad, who looked relaxed, emphasized how Russia was acting according to international law, praising Moscow's political approach to the Syrian crisis which he said had ensured it had not played out according to "a more tragic scenario."

Ultimately, he said, the resolution to the crisis was a political one.

"Terrorism is a real obstacle to a political solution," said Assad. "And of course the whole (Syrian) people want to take part in deciding the fate of their state, and not just the leadership."

POLITICAL SOLUTION?

Putin said Russia was ready to help find a political solution and hailed the Syrian people for standing up to the militants "almost on their own", saying the Syrian army had notched up serious battlefield success in recent times.

Sergei Shoigu, his defense minister, said Russia's air support had helped the Syrian army move from defense to attack, saying Moscow would continue to provide military support.

Putin said Russia had felt compelled to act in Syria because of the threat Islamist militants fighting Assad's forces there posed to its own security.

"Unfortunately on Syrian territory there are about 4,000 people from the former Soviet Union - at a minimum - fighting government forces with weapons in their hands," said Putin.

"We, it goes without saying, can not allow them to turn up on Russian territory after they have received battlefield experience and undergone ideological instruction."

Positive developments on the military front in Syria would provide a basis for a long-term political solution, involving all political forces, ethnic and religious groups, said Putin.

"We are ready to make our contribution not only in the course of military actions in the fight against terrorism, but during the political process," he said, according to the transcript released by the Kremlin.

"This will, of course, be in close contact with other world powers and with countries of the region which are interested in a peaceful resolution of the conflict," Putin said.

Interfax news agency said Putin briefed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan by phone about the talks. Turkey, which supports rebels trying to overthrow Assad, said the Syrian leader should have stayed in Moscow for the sake of his country.

When asked whether Assad's own political future had been discussed, Putin's spokesman declined to comment.

How Assad got to and back from Moscow remains a mystery.

Syria's ambassador to Russia, Riad Haddad, told Reuters Assad had traveled in a Syrian plane and had safely returned home after the meeting. But publicly available flight tracking data suggested Assad's hosts may have laid on transport for him.

It showed an IL-76MD Russian military cargo plane flew from Syria to Moscow's Chkalovsky military airfield on Tuesday, and that an IL-62M plane from Russia's presidential fleet flew to Latakia, a government controlled Syrian province, that same evening.

(Additional reporting by Maria Tsvetkova, Ekaterina Golubkova and Jack Stubbs; Editing by Christian Lowe and Dominic Evans)
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« Reply #971 on: October 21, 2015, 11:12:01 am »

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« Reply #972 on: October 24, 2015, 12:31:41 am »

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« Reply #973 on: October 24, 2015, 12:43:21 am »

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« Reply #974 on: October 24, 2015, 12:49:47 am »

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« Reply #975 on: October 26, 2015, 12:57:59 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/free-syrian-army-says-didnt-refuse-russian-military-082625194--sector.html
10/26/15
Syrian rebels to Russia: Stop bombing us

LONDON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - 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 al-Assad.

Related Stories

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday the Russian air force, which has been bombing insurgents in Syria since Sept. 30, would be ready to help the "patriotic" Syrian opposition.

"Their words are not like their actions. How can we talk to them while they are hitting us?" Issam al-Rayyes, spokesman for the Southern Front of the Free Syrian Army, told Reuters.

Russian warplanes have bombed a number of FSA-affiliated groups in northern areas of Syria since intervening in the war on the side of Assad. The Russian air force is providing air cover for several major ground offensives being waged by the Syrian army and allied Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters.

Rayyes added that there was no contact between the rebels and the Russians, clarifying an earlier remark to the BBC that the rebels had not turned down a Russian offer. "There is no offer, there is no communication," Rayyes said.

"We don't need the help now, they should stop attacking our bases and then we can talk about future cooperation," Rayyes said in his earlier BBC interview.

His comments echo the views of other Syrian rebels towards the Russian statement, with Assad's opponents suspicious that Moscow is working purely to shore up its ally.

The Southern Front alliance operates mostly near the border with Jordan and Israel - an area thus far not targeted in the Russian air strikes, but where the rebels are continuously fighting the Syrian army and allied militias.

The FSA is a loose alliance of groups, some of which have received military aid from Assad's foreign enemies. They are often led by former Syrian army officers and espouse a nationalist vision for the country.

Such groups have, however, been eclipsed in much of Syria by jihadists including the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State group -- the stated target of the Russian intervention in the war.
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« Reply #976 on: October 27, 2015, 04:35:21 am »

94 targets hit in one day - Russia

Russian jets struck 94 targets in war-torn Syria over the past 24 hours, the highest one-day tally since the Kremlin began its month-old bombing campaign, the Russian defence ministry said on Monday.

"In 59 sorties in the past 24 hours, Russia's air force hit 94 terrorist targets in the provinces of Hama, Idlib, Latakia, Damascus, Aleppo and Deir Ezzor," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Moscow says the bombing campaign that began on September 30 targets Islamic State jihadists and other "terrorists," but the West claims the strikes have focused on moderate rebels fighting Russian-backed President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The defence ministry said the latest strikes had destroyed a command post and a base used by "terrorists" in the Aleppo region, as well as three defensive positions near the village of Salma in the coastal Latakia province.

The strikes also caused the destruction of an ammunition depot used by the Syrian Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front in Eastern Ghouta, some 50 kilometres northeast of Damascus, the ministry said.

Russian warplanes also hit an ammunition depot outside the city of Deir Ezzor and a convoy near the city of Palmyra in Homs province.

The Russian air force, which struck 285 targets in the past three days, is monitoring Syrian roads leading to conflict zones in an effort to disrupt rebel supply routes, Moscow said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said last week that Russia air strikes had killed at least 446 people, more than a third of them civilians.

The Kremlin on Monday insisted Russian forces had been carefully avoiding residential areas.

"Our military officers have said many times that terrorists [...] often hide in residential areas," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti state news agency.

"In this case [the military] makes a choice not to hit residential neighbourhoods."

On Monday, defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov dismissed a claim by the Syrian-American Medical Society that the Russian strikes had hit medical facilities, killing civilians and medical personnel.

"The true purpose of these organisations is to create unsourced information for designated media outlets to pick up," Konashenkov said in comments broadcast on state television.

http://news.iafrica.com/worldnews/1010341.html
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« Reply #977 on: October 27, 2015, 05:27:22 pm »

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« Reply #978 on: October 27, 2015, 06:40:20 pm »

American boots on the ground against ISIS: Pentagon says the US will take 'direct action' in Iraq and Syria
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the United States will ramp up attacks on Islamic State jihadists in Syria and Iraq, with additional air strikes and even direct action on the ground
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carter said he expects more actions like the one last week that freed dozens of captives but left an American commando dead in Iraq


Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Tuesday said the United States will ramp up attacks on Islamic State jihadists in Syria and Iraq, with additional air strikes and even direct action on the ground.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carter said he expects more actions like the one last week that freed dozens of captives but left an American commando dead in Iraq.
'We won't hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against ISIL, or conducting such missions directly, whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground,' Carter said.
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3292105/US-boost-anti-IS-attacks-Iraq-Syria-Defense-chief.html#ixzz3poZkT5aQ
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« Reply #979 on: October 28, 2015, 12:35:45 am »

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« Reply #980 on: October 31, 2015, 03:45:22 pm »

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/obama-sending-special-operations-ground-troops-to-fight-in-syria/
OBAMA SENDING SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUND TROOPS TO FIGHT IN SYRIA
The mission marks a major shift for Obama, whose determination to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been balanced by an abiding worry that U.S. troops not be pulled too deeply into the in­trac­table Syrian conflict.


10/30/15
 
President Obama is sending a small number of Special Operations troops to northern Syria, marking the first full-time deployment of U.S. forces to the chaotic country.

The mission marks a major shift for Obama, whose determination to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been balanced by an abiding worry that U.S. troops not be pulled too deeply into the in­trac­table Syrian conflict.

The latest deployment will involve fewer than 50 Special Operations advisers, who will work with resistance forces­ battling the Islamic State in northern Syria but will not engage in direct combat, Obama administration officials said.

“This is an intensification of a strategy that the president announced more than a year ago,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.

The move, which the president’s national security team recommended late last week, reflects Obama’s growing dissatisfaction with the halting progress in Iraq and Syria and his commanders’ sense that the Islamic State has significant vulnerabilities that can be exploited.

The troops are expected to begin arriving over the next month in Syria, where their main focus will be advising Syrian Arab and Kurdish forces­ who have fought to within 30 miles of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital, said a senior defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. The U.S. troops are expected to remain largely at the “headquarters level,” where they will assess the local forces­ and help plan military operations to put continued pressure on Raqqa and a 60-mile-long stretch of the Syria-Turkey border.

A successful attack on Raqqa would mark a major victory for the forces­ battling the Islamic State.

The Special Operations forces, even though they are focused on advising U.S. allies and not direct combat, still face a real threat. “This is a dangerous place on the globe, and they are at risk,” Earnest said. “There is no denying it.” The deployment, like the recent commitment to keep 5,500 troops in Afghanistan after 2016, would be essentially open-ended, he said. source
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« Reply #981 on: October 31, 2015, 07:11:12 pm »

ttps://www.rt.com/news/320106-syria-vienna-international-talks/
10/30/15
‘All relevant actors’ gather in Vienna for decisive Syria talks

The multinational meeting in Vienna between “all relevant actors,” according to the EU’s foreign policy chief, is an important step in defining a “common space” for the political settlement of the ongoing crisis in Syria.

The aim of the talks, during which almost 20 representatives will sit at the negotiating table, is to draft a plan that would hopefully provide for a ceasefire in the four-year conflict and pave the way for the process of political transition – and at the same time allow the unification of efforts to battle the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and other jihadist groups.

Foreign ministers from the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey arrived for a four-way meeting in the Austrian capital on Thursday.

With Iran set to join the larger meeting on Friday morning, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters that Tehran “has a stabilizing power in the region,” IRNA news agency reported. He stressed that without Iran it will be “impossible to reach a logical solution.”

Ahead of the main discussions, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini held a bilateral meeting with Zarif where she praised Russia’s effort for trying to bring peace to Syria.

Talking to reporters she expressed hope that the high-stakes meeting will become the first step towards the settlement of the Syrian crisis, where the US and Russia are leading their own anti-ISIS campaigns.

“I believe it is very important that ... we will have all the relevant actors, regionally and internationally, relevant actors playing around the same table trying to define a common space for the beginning of the political process to find a solution to the crisis in Syria," the EU’s foreign policy chief said.

“Let’s see if the work we have done in coordination with the US, with Russia in these days, in these weeks, allow us to open this political space and create the possibility for a follow up for a beginning of a process that can lead us to a political transition in Syria,” Mogherini told the journalists outside the Hotel Imperial in Vienna.

Hours before departing to Vienna, Mogherini told RIA news agency in Rome that Russia played a critical role in assembling the international meeting in the Austrian capital, stressing that Moscow “understands” that its air campaign in Syria has to be followed up with “political and diplomatic efforts.”

Syria has been in turmoil since 2011, with government troops engaged in fighting on multiple fronts against the so-called moderate opposition factions and jihadist groups, including the Islamic State and Al Nusra Front. Over 250,000 people have fallen victim to the hostilities, according to some estimates, while half of the population had to relocate either internally or flee the country as refugees.

The United States and its allies have supported the “moderate rebels,” while demanding President’s Bashar Assad’s resignation, claiming that he has lost all legitimacy, but offering no viable alternative. In August last year, Washington stepped up its role in the conflict and began bombing IS targets without consulting Damascus.

Russia and Iran recognize Assad as the legitimate Syrian authority. Russia has been conducting precision airstrikes on IS positions in Syria at the request of President Bashar Assad since September 30, which according to the Russian General Staff have already resulted in a large-scale militant retreat and the loss of much of their weaponry and equipment.
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« Reply #982 on: October 31, 2015, 07:12:46 pm »

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/iran-accepts-invitation-to-attend-syria-peace-talks/article27017584/
Arch-rivals Iran, Saudi Arabia to join Russia, U.S. for Syria peace talks
ANGUS MCDOWALL AND BOZORGMEHR SHARAFEDIN
DUBAI — Reuters
Published Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015 12:15PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015 6:41PM EDT

Arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran announced they would attend international talks in Vienna on Friday on the Syrian conflict, in what will be their first meeting to discuss the four-year-long war.

Saudi Arabia said it aimed to gauge during the talks the willingness of Iran and Russia, the main backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, for a peace deal, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Wednesday.

“The view of our partners ... was that we should test the intentions of the Iranians and the Russians in arriving at a political solution in Syria, which we all prefer,” al-Jubeir told a news conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and three of his deputies will travel to Vienna, Iranian state news agencies said. It will be the first time that Tehran has been represented in international discussions on the Syrian crisis.

Iran says it supports a political solution in Syria, but says Assad should be part of the process. Opposition groups, and their regional backers including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, say Assad must leave power as a precondition for peace.

Al-Jubeir said Saudi Arabia and its allies would hold a separate meeting on Friday to seek “the time and means of Bashar al-Assad’s exit”.

The White House said the peace talks could only work if “all key stakeholders” were invited, adding that Iran’s participation should not overshadow the efforts to end the Syrian crisis.

“The United States is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict in Syria,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters.

Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Lebanon, the European Union and France also said they would attend Friday’s talks, which come a day after a smaller round of negotiations between the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Around a dozen participants are expected in total.

It was not clear whether any invitation had been issued to either the Syrian government or the opposition. Neither side was present at the last talks in Vienna.

Speaking at a news conference in Riyadh with his Saudi counterpart, British foreign minister Philip Hammond said he hoped the meeting would encourage dialogue between the rivals, who back opposing sides in conflicts across the Arab world.

“Saudi Arabia and Iran are the two most important and powerful countries in this region. It is very much in the long-term interests of the region that eventually these two countries are able to talk to each other, are able to discuss differences, are able to seek solutions peacefully,” Hammond said.

The Syrian National Coalition, an opposition group based in Turkey and backed by Western powers, said Iran’s participation in the talks would undermine the political process.

“Iran has only one project – to keep Assad in power ... They don’t believe in the principle of the talks,” said the coalition’s vice-president Hisham Marwa.

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, told reporters during a visit to Pakistan that Tehran would join the Syria talks “with no pre-conditions”.

A senior Western diplomat in New York said on Wednesday: “We have got to start from a fairly low base given that you’ve got Russia and Iran on one side and everyone else on the other.”

“It would be successful if (the meeting) came off and didn’t completely fall apart,” he added.

Turkey, which backs the anti-Assad opposition, has no objection to Iranian participation in the Syria talks, a diplomatic source in Ankara said. Turkish foreign ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

Fighters from Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are currently taking part in ground offensives being waged by the Syrian army and its allies with Russian air support.

Revolutionary Guards Deputy Commander Hossein Salami said in an interview on state TV on Monday that Iran had increased its military presence in Syria in recent months to help its army in response to a request from the Assad government.

An Iranian political analyst based in Frankfurt, Ali Sadrzadeh, said: “Iran was always saying that without it the talks on the Syrian crisis would not succeed. What has changed is that Russia and the United States have come to the same conclusion.”

He said the July nuclear deal between Iran and world powers paved the way for Tehran’s participation in the international arena, adding: “The Vienna talks will be Iran’s first test.”

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who will take part in the talks, welcomed Iran’s participation. After a phone call with the Iranian foreign minister on Wednesday, she tweeted: “Important to have all relevant regional actors at the table on Friday in Vienna.”

“This is an acknowledgement of reality, four years into the conflict,” said Julien Barnes-Dacey, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in London. “Having Iran at the table complicates the goal of getting rid of Assad, but potentially opens the door to some kind of de-escalatory track.”

Some analysts suggested compromise remained far off.

Karim Sadjadpour, senior associate at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said: “There are no tangible signs that Iran is prepared to abandon Assad, or sees a way to preserve its interests in a post-Assad Syria.”

“Iran has consistently argued that Syria’s future is a choice between Assad and the jihadists.”

Patrick Clawson, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the idea that external actors were key to producing a political solution was misplaced.

“The difficulty we face is that the involvement of Iran is only going to inflame the opinion, the attitudes of some groups in Syria,” he said.
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« Reply #983 on: November 23, 2015, 06:26:28 pm »

Report: Russian ground troops arrive in Syria in unprecedented military action

The Kuwaiti report adds that Russian forces have already taken over multiple strategic positions and have forced numerous rebel battalions to retreat.

In an unprecedented move, Russia has sent ground-troops into the Syrian battlefield in support of Bashar Assad as the dictator struggles to maintain his power in the continuous four-year-long civil war, according to a report by Kuwaiti daily al-Rai.

The report, which has not been substantiated by other sources, claims Russian military forces have been providing cover for T-90 tanks along with military air support which have attacked multiple strategic targets held by rebel forces in Idlib and Latakia.

In September, multiple US officials claimed that Russia had positioned about a half dozen tanks at a Syrian airfield at the center of a military buildup.

One US official said seven Russian T-90 tanks were observed at the airfield near Latakia, a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Kuwaiti report adds that Russian forces have already taken over multiple strategic positions and have forced numerous rebel battalions to retreat. The report did not disclose whether there were Russian army casualties.

Over the last three months, Russia has steadily increased its participation in the Syrian domestic conflict, launching airstrikes from its bases in western Syria as it drops thousands of sorties on enemy targets.
 
Along with airstrikes, Russia has also increased its naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea along the Syrian coast while it coordinates with Iranian military forces and Hezbollah.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on several past occasions that his country had no intention of sending boots on the ground to participate in the Syrian civil war.

If the report is correct, it could signify a dramatic shift in Russian policy, or merely be a one-time specific action.

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Report-Russian-ground-troops-arrive-in-Syria-in-unprecedented-military-action-435024
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« Reply #984 on: November 24, 2015, 04:53:58 am »

Turkey says it shot down warplane at border

[Breaking news update at 5:12 a.m.]

The Turkish military says it shot down an unidentified warplane Tuesday near the Turkish-Syrian border, contending it repeatedly violated Turkish airspace and ignored repeated warnings. Turkey's semi-official Anadolu news agency cites Turkish Presidential sources in reporting that a Russian SU-24 was "hit within the framework of engagement rules" in Syria's Bayirbucak area near the Turkish border.

[Previous story posted at 4:45 a.m.]

A Russian warplane crashed Tuesday on the Syrian side of the Turkey-Syria border, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told CNN.

The cause of the crash and the fate of the pilots remains unclear, although the Russian Defense Ministry said they ejected, according to state-run Sputnik news.

If it turns out that the plane was shot down, that would greatly exacerbate tensions in one of the most fraught regions of the world.

"According to the preliminary reports, the plane was gunned down from the ground," Sputnik reported.

"The Su-24 bomber jet was in Syrian airspace at the altitude 6,000 meters, the Russian Defense Ministry said," according to Sputnik. "The pilots were reportedly able to parachute out of the jet before it crashed."

Anadolu Agency reported that a warplane of "unknown nationality" crashed on the Syrian side of the border.

An inevitable event?

"A war plane with unidentified nationality fell near the Turkish border in Syria's Bayirbucak region," the Anadolu Agency reported. "The moment of the plane falling into Bayirbucak region across from Hatay's Yayladagi was captured on camera. The pilot's evacuation via parachute was also captured. Heavy smoke has been seen in the area where the plane fell."

The area referred to by the news agency is in southern Turkey, close to the Syrian border.

The Turkish government is strongly opposed to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Skirmishes between Turkish and Syrians have taken place in the past, with Turkish officials accusing the Syrian planes of violating Turkish air space.

Russia, however, has been supporting the Assad regime, and has had warplanes active over Syria.

This kind of incident might ultimately have been inevitable, given the number of countries involved either directly or indirectly in the Syrian war. Currently the US, Russia, France, the Gulf states, Turkey and Israel are involved in one way or another in military activity in Syria.

Nationality of plane and cause of crash unknown
In March, 2014 Turkey shot down a Syrian fighter jet after the warplane strayed into its airspace, according to then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan is now the country's president

"Our F-16s went up in the air and shot that plane down. Why? Because if you violate my airspace, then from now on, our slap will be hard," Erdogan told supporters at a campaign rally in 2014.

But state-run media in Syria called the shoot-down an act of "blatant aggression" and said the downed plane was over northern Syria at the time.

However, the cause of Tuesday's crash remains unknown.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/24/middleeast/warplane-crashes-near-syria-turkey-border/
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« Reply #985 on: November 24, 2015, 05:31:15 pm »

Putin: Downing Of Jet A 'Stab In The Back'
International powers call for calm as the Russian leader warns Turkey downing one of its jets will have "serious consequences".


The shooting down of a Russian jet by Turkey is a "stab in the back" committed by "accomplices of terrorists", Vladimir Putin has said.

The Sukhoi Su-24 was warned 10 times before being downed near the Syrian border by two Turkish F16 jets for violating the country's airspace, according to the Turkish military.

A Turkish official said two Russian planes approached the Turkish border and were warned before one of them was shot down, adding their information shows Turkish airspace was repeatedly violated.

NATO said the incursion into Turkish airspace lasted 17 seconds, but Moscow claims its plane was over Syria when it was shot down.

It has triggered a major diplomatic confrontation, with NATO calling an emergency meeting to discuss the incident.

There are conflicting reports about the fate of the two Russian pilots.

Russia confirmed one of the pilots was killed by gunfire from the ground as he parachuted from the plane.

But a Turkish official has told Reuters news agency Turkey believes the two pilots are still alive and is working to secure their release from Syrian rebels.

However, a rebel group has said it shot dead the two pilots as they tried to land safely in northern Syria after ejecting from the jet.

Video sent to Reuters appears to show one of the pilots immobile on the ground. "A Russian pilot," a voice is heard saying, as men gather around the man on the ground. "God is great," is also heard.

Sky News Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said claims the pilots are still alive "is in direct contradiction with what the Turkish-speaking rebels on the ground have said".

"This may be good news for the families if they have survived - but we have seen published videos of what appears to be the bodies of two different men ... I think the assumption remains (they are dead) and that the Turks might be a little bit behind with their information," he said.

A Russian soldier was also killed while searching for the pilots after his helicopter was shot at in Syria, the Russian military said.

A military spokesman said the shooting killed one crew member on the Mi-8 helicopter.

Video emerged earlier purporting to show Syrian rebel fighters who have received US arms destroying a Russian helicopter while it was on the ground.

The downing of the jet is the first time a NATO member's armed forces have shot down a Russian or Soviet military aircraft since the 1950s.

The Russian leader said the jet "did not in any way threaten Turkey" and the incident will have "serious consequences" for relations between the two countries.

Mr Putin said the aircraft was shot by a missile from a Turkish jet over Syria around 1km (just over half a mile) away from the Turkish border, which he described as a "stab in the back by the terrorists' accomplices".

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has cancelled a trip to Turkey scheduled for Wednesday and advised Russians not to visit the country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "Everyone must respect the right of Turkey to protect its borders."

Following the extraordinary meeting, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg called for "calm and de-escalation" and said the allies "stand in solidarity with Turkey".

US President Barack Obama said Turkey "has a right to defend its territory and its airspace", but urged both Turkey and Russia to take measures "to discourage any kind of escalation".

He said Russia should be doing more to target Islamic State with its airstrikes in Syria, instead of striking moderate opposition groups to bolster President Bashar al Assad's regime.

He added that if Russia concentrated on bombing IS, then mistakes would be "less likely to occur".

Russia's defence ministry summoned Turkey's military attache in Moscow for an official protest. The attache was presented with a document say the jet downing was "unfriendly action".

And Russia's charge d'affaires has been summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry.

The Russian plane went down in an area known by Turks as "Turkmen Mountain" in northern Syria near the Turkish border.

The region has been the subject of a Syrian government offensive in recent days under the cover of Russian airstrikes.

Turkey has previously called for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmens in Syria.

Last week Ankara summoned the Russian ambassador to protest against the bombing of the villages by Moscow, saying Russia's actions did not "constitute a fight against terrorism" but the bombing of civilians.

Turkey has traditionally expressed solidarity with Syrian Turkmens, who are Syrians of Turkish descent.


http://news.sky.com/story/1593241/putin-downing-of-jet-a-stab-in-the-back
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« Reply #986 on: November 24, 2015, 05:35:13 pm »

McCains buddies shoot down Russian RESCUE Helicopter

Russian rescue helicopter 'shot down by Syrian rebels' while searching for pilots of plane downed by Turkey

The Russian leader also warned it would have serious consequences for his country’s relations with Turkey

A Russian rescue helicopter has been shot down by Syrian rebels while searching for pilots missing after Turkey downed a Russian jet.

The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in a government-held area in Syria's Latakia province.

A Syrian insurgent group, which uses U.S. Tow missiles, said its fighters hit the helicopter with an anti-tank missile.

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Video footage has emerged online appearing to show the helicopter after it crashed in dense woodland.

Plumes of smoke can be seen coming from the aircraft.

Vladmir Putin earlier warned Turkey of "significant consequences" after the Russian plane was shot down.

The Russian President also said the action by Turkey was a "stab in the back" and said it would have serious consequences for his country’s relations with Turkey.

Turkey claimed it shot down the fighter jet because it violated its airspace.

However, Putin said the jet was shot down in Syria, 4km from the Turkish border.

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He told a media conference: "This event is beyond the normal framework of fighting against terrorism.

"Of course our military is doing heroic work against terrorism... But the loss today is a stab in the back, carried out by the accomplices of terrorists.

"....Our aircraft was downed over the territory of Syria, using air-to-air missile from a Turkish F-16."

A gruesome video appears to show Syrian rebels with a dead pilot from the jet.

A Syrian rebel group has distributed footage which they say shows the pilot.

Two pilots ejected but footage online now appears to show that one of the pilots has died. Sources now claim that the second pilot is also dead.

In the gruesome footage, a voice is heard saying "A Russian pilot.

A voice then adds: "God is great" .

It is not known what has happened to a second pilot who was in the plane.

Turkish military officials say a warplane shot down the jet because it violated its airspace.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement: "We are looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet.

"The Ministry of Defence would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight."

A Turkish military statement said the plane entered Turkish airspace over the town of Yayladagi, in Hatay province.

"On November 24 2015 at around 9.20am, a plane whose nationality is not known violated the Turkish airspace despite several warnings (10 times within five minutes) in the area of Yayladagi, Hatary," the military said before the plane's nationality was confirmed.

"Two F-16 planes on aerial patrol duty in the area intervened against the plane in question in accordance with the rules of engagement at 9.24am."

The decision to shoot down the jet was taken directly by the Turkish Prime Minister.

Russian fighter planes have been flying in the area as part of the Russian bombing campaign in Syria.

Turkish officials say the plane was warned 10 times in five minutes before it was eventually shot down.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the warplane crashed in a mountainous area in the northern countryside of Latakia province.

This is where there had been aerial bombardment earlier and where pro-government forces have been battling insurgents on the ground.

Both Russia and its ally, Syria's government, have carried out strikes in the area.

A Syrian military source said the reported downing was being investigated.

Footage from private Turkish broadcaster Haberturk TV showed the warplane going down in flames in a woodland area, a long plume of smoke trailing behind it.

The plane went down in area known by Turks as "Turkmen Mountain", it said.

Separate footage from Turkey's Anadolu Agency showed two pilots parachuting out of the jet before it crashed.

Turkey called this week for a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmens in neighbouring Syria, and last week Ankara summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the bombing of their villages.

Ankara has traditionally expressed solidarity with Syrian Turkmens, who are Syrians of Turkish descent.

About 1,700 people have fled the mountainous Syrian area to the Turkish border as a result of fighting in the last three days, a Turkish official said on Monday.

Russian jets have bombed the area in support of ground operations by Syrian government forces.

VIDEOS + PICS http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/russian-rescue-helicopter-shot-down-6891003
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« Reply #987 on: November 24, 2015, 05:36:33 pm »

Russia deploys missile cruiser off Syria coast, ordered to destroy any target posing danger

Moscow plans to suspend military cooperation with Ankara after the downing of a Russian bomber by Turkish air forces, Russian General Staff representatives said on Tuesday. Further measures to beef up Russian air base security in Syria will also be taken.
Three steps as announced by top brass:

Each and every strike groups’ operation is to be carried out under the guise of fighter jets
Air defense to be boosted with the deployment of Moskva guided missile cruiser off Latakia coast with an aim to destroy any target that may pose danger
Military contacts with Turkey to be suspended

Sergey Rudskoy, a top official with the Russian General Staff, condemned the attack on the Russian bomber in Syrian airspace by a Turkish fighter jet as “a severe violation of international law”. He stressed that the Su-24 was downed over the Syrian territory. The crash site was four kilometers away from the Turkish border, he said.

Rudskoy said the Russian warplane did not violate Turkish airspace. Additionally, according to the Hmeymim airfield radar, it was the Turkish fighter jet that actually entered Syrian airspace as it attacked the Russian bomber.

The Turkish fighter jet made no attempts to contact Russian pilots before attacking the bomber, Rudskoy added.

“We assume the strike was carried out with a close range missile with an infra-red seeker,” Rudskoy said. “The Turkish jet made no attempts to communicate or establish visual contact with our crew that our equipment would have registered. The Su-24 was hit by a missile over Syria’s territory.”

Russia now plans to implement new measures aimed at strengthening the security of the country’s air base in Syria and in particular to bolster air defense.

Russian guided missile cruiser Moskva, equipped with the ‘Fort’ air defense system, similar to the S-300, will be deployed off Latakia province's coast.

"We warn that every target posing a potential threat will be destroyed,” lieutenant general Sergey Rudskoy said during the briefing.


The Moskva (‘Moscow’) missile cruise is a flagship vessel of the Russian Black Sea fleet and is one of the fleet’s two biggest ships. The cruiser was stationed in Sevastopol but left in summer 2015 after being deployed to the Mediterranean Sea where it joined Russia’s standing naval force in the Mediterranean.

Since September 30, the Moskva cruiser acts as a covering force for the Russian air forces in Syria while deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.

“All military contacts with Turkey will be suspended,” Rudskoy added.

Turkey claims that it downed the Russian bomber in Turkish airspace after the plane was given 10 warnings in the space of five minutes as it approached the country’s territory.

"Nobody should doubt that we made our best efforts to avoid this latest incident. But everyone should respect the right of Turkey to defend its borders," Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara.

"The data we have is very clear. There were two planes approaching our border, we warned them as they were getting too close," another senior Turkish official told Reuters.

"Our findings show clearly that Turkish air space was violated multiple times. And they violated it knowingly."

US President Barack Obama and his French counterpart Francois Hollande urged Russia and Turkey away from further escalation during a meeting in Washington, while NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg voiced the alliance’s support for Turkey.

A US military spokesman also said that the incident involves only Turkey and Russia and does not affect the US-led campaign in Syria, which will continue “as planned”.

https://www.rt.com/news/323329-russia-suspend-military-turkey/
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« Reply #988 on: November 24, 2015, 07:54:20 pm »

https://www.rt.com/news/323184-iran-s-300-delivery-underway/
Delivery of S-300 air defence systems to Tehran begins – ambassador
Published time: 23 Nov, 2015 20:49
Edited time: 23 Nov, 2015 21:01

The delivery of Russian S-300 anti-missile rocket systems to Iran has started, Iran’s ambassador to Moscow said in an interview. Iran is getting one of the latest versions of the air defence complex.

The delivery is underway, ambassador Mehdi Sanaei told Persian-language daily, Etemaad, as cited by Tasnim news agency.

The news was not welcome in Washington, with US State Department spokesman Mark Toner reiterating the US stance on the issue in a briefing on Monday.

“We made clear time and again our objections to any sale of the S-300 missile system to Iran,” Toner told reporters.

Earlier this month Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan announced Tehran is going to get Russian air defence systems by the end of the year, which in Iran ends on March 20, 2016.

Brigadier General Dehghan stressed that a major batch of the hardware is going to be delivered in less than two months’ time.

“Iran has bought as many S-300 air defense systems as it needs,” Dehghan said, adding that Iranian operators of S-300 system are being trained in Russia.

The initial S-300 contract between Moscow and Tehran was signed in 2007 and implied the delivery of five S-300 squadrons worth $US 800 million.

In 2010 the contract was put on hold by then-President Dmitry Medvedev due to the UN imposing sanctions on Iran. In return, Iran lodged a $4 billion lawsuit at an international court in Geneva against Russia’s arms export agency Rosoboronexport.

In April 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin repealed the ban. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on the decision, saying Moscow’s voluntary embargo on S-300 deliveries was no longer necessary due to the progress in talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

In October, Iran’s Defense Ministry confirmed Moscow’s readiness to deliver the S-300 system under an agreement signed between the two countries.

Sergey Chemezov, the head of the Russian state-owned high-tech giant Rostec, said that the new contract came into force on November 9.

Iran has bought Russia’s most well-known air defense systems in one of its latest versions S-300PMU-2 Favorite, TASS reported earlier this month during the Dubai Airshow 2015.

The last time Russia supplied S-300 systems abroad was in 2010, when 15 squadrons were delivered to China.
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« Reply #989 on: November 24, 2015, 09:18:26 pm »

Putin threatens revenge after Turkey shoots down Russian jet


HES COMING !!

President Putin vowed “serious consequences” in revenge for Turkey shooting down a Russian warplane above its border with Syria yesterday, calling it “a stab in the back by the terrorists’ accomplices”.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article4623094.ece
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