IT BEGINS: Russian air strikes against Assad enemies

[MikeWB]

Russia has begun carrying out air strikes in Syria against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad.

The strikes reportedly hit rebel-controlled areas of Homs and Hama provinces, causing casualties.

The US says it was informed an hour before they took place.

Russian defence officials say aircraft targeted the Islamic State group, but an unnamed US official told Reuters that so far they did not appear to be targeting IS-held territory.

Follow the latest live updates here

Syria's civil war has raged for four years, with an array of armed groups fighting to overthrow the government.

The US and its allies have insisted that President Assad should leave office, while Russia has backed its ally remaining in power.

Russian fighter jets and helicopters at a military base in the government-controlled coastal Syrian city of LatakiaImage copyright AFP
Image caption Satellites have recorded images of Russian aircraft at Latakia airbase in western Syria
Analysis: Jonathan Marcus, defence and diplomatic correspondent

Russia's decision to intervene with its air power greatly complicates the Syrian crisis while probably offering little additional chance of a diplomatic resolution.

Russian sources indicate that Sukhoi Su-24 warplanes were involved, operating out of an airbase near Latakia.

There are serious questions about who exactly the Russian aircraft are targeting. US officials believe that the initial Russian strikes are not in IS-held territory, raising the possibility that Russian air power is being utilised more in the form of close air support for Syrian government forces against the multiple enemies of the Assad regime.

Of course, many of these enemies are supported by the West's Arab allies or Turkey. The warning time given by the Russians to the Americans announcing the start of their operations may also raise some eyebrows, suggesting that much more detailed co-ordination may be needed in future to avoid incidents in Syrian airspace.

Syria's civil war explained

Diplomatic goals behind Putin's Syria build-up

The battle for Syria and Iraq in maps

The upper house of the Russian parliament granted President Vladimir Putin permission to deploy the Russian air force in Syria.

The Russian defence ministry said the country's air force had targeted IS military equipment, communication facilities, arms depots, ammunition and fuel supplies.

Syrian opposition activists said Russian warplanes had hit towns including Zafaraneh, Rastan ands Talbiseh, resulting in the deaths of 36 people, a number of them children.

None of the areas targeted were controlled by IS, activists said.

Media caption President Putin says Russian military support in Syria will continue until the Syrian army can carry on the offensive
In a televised address, Mr Putin said the air strikes were targeting Islamist militants - including Russian citizens - who have taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq.

"If they [militants] succeed in Syria, they will return to their home country, and they will come to Russia, too," he said.

He added that Russia was not going to send ground troops to Syria, and that its role in Syrian army operations would be limited.

"We certainly are not going to plunge head-on into this conflict... we will be supporting the Syrian army purely in its legitimate fight with terrorist groups."

Mr Putin also said he expected President Assad to talk with the Syrian opposition about a political settlement, but clarified that he was referring to what he described as "healthy'' opposition groups.

A US defence official said: "A Russian official in Baghdad this morning informed US embassy personnel that Russian military aircraft would begin flying anti-Isil [IS] missions today over Syria. He further requested that US aircraft avoid Syrian airspace during these missions."

US state department spokesman John Kirby told reporters: "The US-led coalition will continue to fly missions over Iraq and Syria as planned and in support of our international mission to degrade and destroy Isil [IS]."

map
Syria's civil war

Homs cityImage copyright AFP
What's the human cost?

More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and a million injured in four-and-a-half years of armed conflict, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a full-scale civil war.

And the survivors?

More than 11 million others have been forced from their homes, four million of them abroad, as forces loyal to President Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other - as well as jihadist militants from IS and other groups. Growing numbers of refugees are going to Europe.

How has the world reacted?

Regional and world powers have also been drawn into the conflict. Iran and Russia, along with Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, are propping up the Alawite-led government. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are backing the Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France.

[Michael K.]

Steven Lendman, September 22, 2015: "Big Lies continue circulating, claiming a Russian military buildup in Syria, reminiscent of fabricated accusations of "Russian aggression" in Ukraine, long ago discredited." http://www.globalresearch.ca/russias-real-involvement-in-syria-no-evidence-of-a-russian-military-buildup/5477493



PS...thank you, super secret hidden truth fairy.

[Idaho Kid]

Orthodox Church praises Putin decision on Syria airstrikes:'War on terror is sacred'
http://www.rt.com/politics/317045-war-on-terror-is-sacred/

[MikeWB]

Here are the latest updates from RT:

http://www.rt.com/news/317068-russia-isis-islamic-syria/

Also, Russian parliament unanimously approved strikes.

It seems that FSA is taking the brunt of them right now... not ISIS. I'm guessing they're clearing terror groups that surround SAA and Russian bases.

Also, Russians flew in Su-34 "Fullback" bоmber planes in yesterday. They can carry scary amounts of precision munitions.

All those tеrrоrіѕt/opposition groups are good as dead now. Russia will just indiscriminately pound them until they leave, or more likely, they're dead.

[Christopher Marlowe]

This just goes to show how FAKE ISIS is. The US could have done this years ago. ISIS doesn't have an air force. The US could have cut their supply lines and flattened them in a few days.  Instead the USreal/SA et al has supplied ISIS with brand new Toyotas and arms, and produced fake beheading videos for the retards at home.

[Ognir]

[tweet]649276703387308032[/tweet]

[rmstock]

Caught On Tape: Dramatic Footage Of Russia's First Airstrikes In Syria
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/30/2015 09:21 -0400
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-30/caught-tape-dramatic-footage-russias-first-airstrikes-syria

  "As we reported earlier this morning, at the "request" (whatever that
   means in the context of Russian politics) of Vladimir Putin, Russian
   lawmakers have approved airstrikes in Syria and unlike the rather
   deliberate pace of Washington's efforts to rout ISIS, Moscow doesn't
   appear to be wasting any time.
   
   As CNN reports, Russia has conducted its first strikes near Homs after
   effectively warning the US to stay out of the sky.
   
       Russia has conducted its first airstrike in Syria, near the
       city of Homs, a senior U.S. official told CNN on Wednesday .
   
       The Russians told the United States that it should not fly U.S.
       warplanes in Syria, but gave no geographical information about
       where Russia planned to strike. The senior official said U.S.
       missions are continuing as normal.
   
   Yes, the "US missions are continuing as normal", which means no one is
   doing much of anything and some CIA-trained proxy fighters are being
   pick-up-truck-jacked somewhere by al-Qaeda.
   
   In any event, here are the visuals which purport to show Russia's first
   strikes on anti-regime targets:
   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   And a few still shots:
   
   
   
   
   
    *  *  *
   As a side note, Homs is not generally identified as being an ISIS
   stronghold, although the group did reportedly seize Al-Qaryatain in
   August:
   
   
   
   And the Pentagon is already out trying to stir up the controversy
   (again via CNN):
   
       But a senior U.S. administration official told CNN's Elise
       Labott the Russian airstrike near the city of Homs "has no
       strategic purpose" in terms of combating ISIS, which "shows they
       are not there to go after ISIL." ISIL is another acronym for ISIS.
   
   "

[MikeWB]

This just goes to show how FAKE ISIS is. The US could have done this years ago. ISIS doesn't have an air force. The US could have cut their supply lines and flattened them in a few days.  Instead the USreal/SA et al has supplied ISIS with brand new Toyotas and arms, and produced fake beheading videos for the retards at home.

Exactly right. US has a carrier strike group in the area and they do less than 10 strikes per day and only on remote positions. They could have flattened ISIS in months.

Russians are apparently going to do 300 strikes per day.

[MikeWB]

From official russian mil YT channel:

[Idaho Kid]

Hope they capture some of those 8-foot ISIS giants:



This bullshit is known as "blue screen" technology or "green screen" or what?  Thanks.

[Ognir]

Should be easy to spot this 8 foot monsters 

[rmstock]

Russia has begun carrying out air strikes in Syria against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad.

The strikes reportedly hit rebel-controlled areas of Homs and Hama provinces, causing casualties.

The US says it was informed an hour before they took place.

Russian defence officials say aircraft targeted the Islamic State group,
but an unnamed US official told Reuters that so far they did not appear to be targeting IS-held territory.

And this was also the main, in reproach made, objection through the
official Dutch State News service outlet, the NOS (nos.nl) aka NPO
(npo.nl), which are basically the same organization.

The NOS aka NPO. Also here in the Netherlands the Dutch have started to
use two names for the same entity. One could see it as a regrouping of
the devil. The devil is loosing, in `good times' it has many names and
many manifestations. When loosing the many names are clustered back --
inside official approved verbiage  -- to the same remaining evil embodying
entity : In case of The Dutch State News service :  ( NOS / NPO ) and
in case of Islam in the Middle East : ( ISIS / ISIL / IS / Daesh / El Nusra / Al Qaeda )