Russian jets pictured over Syria dropping their bombs on 'terrorists'

Home Top

Lamar comes out of coma, speaks to Khloe and wants to see his children: NBA star who collapsed during $75k brothel and drug binge makes major breakthrough in recovery
Hundreds of students return to the cafeteria after Montana high school gives up $120,000 in federal funding and drops Michelle Obama's hugely unpopular lunch program
Are YOU smart enough to join Mensa? Take the quiz to see if your IQ measures up against 250 child geniuses
Escaped cartel kingpin El Chapo 'is suffering from face and leg injuries' after showdown with Mexican marines last week
Get ready for 'The Monster': Forecasters reveal El Niño will bring a cold and wet winter but say it WON'T be enough to ease California's drought
Teen pleads guilty to horrific murder of Iraqi immigrant, 13, who he tied up, sodomized, and strangled to death
Veteran The View producer sues Rosie O'Donnell for being a 'bully' and says she feared the comedian would assault her
Catholic hospital denies pregnant mother of two suffering from brain tumor a life-saving sterilization treatment on religious grounds
Which schools help their students get ahead: Ranking orders America's colleges based on their economic mobility boost
United Continental's stock plunges on Friday after airline's new CEO suffers heart attack and is admitted to the hospital
Russia tries to cut itself off from the World Wide Web as Kremlin attempts to clamp down on internet freedoms
EXCLUSIVE: 'In all the years we were together he never talked about those men' - Widow of drug smuggler who claimed he ran into the Alcatraz escapees in Brazil says husband was a 'con artist'
How a daytime nap IS good for you: 90 minutes of shut eye after learning 'helps you remember new facts and skills'
Malia Obama is 'photographed at Brown University party as she watches students play beer pong and drink during college visit '
$The Shannon Twins, Karissa & Kristina aren¿t having the best week so far.. but thankfully they¿re alive.\n\nPlayboy¿s most infamous twins were driving in a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon on Monday night around Beverly Hills / West Hollywood and Sunset when the SUV Flipped over, and the Twins miraculously made it out with their lives.\n\nThe story is still developing but the two had to pay a visit to the hospital. Thankfully, they¿ll make it out okay.$ The Shannon twins Playboy models in car crash: Kristina is cut out of her Mercedes then booked for DUI while Karissa is pulled from the windshield and rushed to hospital
EXCLUSIVE: RHOA's Sheree Whitfield duped! Reality star claims she was hood-winked by producer who cut back her role and then took her idea for a show about African-American real estate agents
Scott Kelly becomes US astronaut to spend the most time in space: Commander breaks the world record by living on ISS for 383 days (and he still has another 139 to go)
'Officer, what are you doing?': Cop shoots dead unarmed 17-year-old driving back from church basketball game after teen flashed his lights to signal fault with patrol car
British man described as 'Abu Hamza's personal assistant' is sentenced to 20 years in prison after he tried to set up a terrorist training camp in America
The moment a husband's quest for a new life ended with the death of his beloved wife: Iraqi relatives weep for 65-year-old who drowned as they crossed from Turkey to Lesbos
The unwitting star of the 'Ermahgerd' memes is all grown up, and she looks nothing like the retainer-wearing pre-adolescent girl in the immortal photo
'I've been vindicated': Randy Quaid speaks out after he and wife Evi were freed on American soil for the first time since 2010
Worrying social experiment reveals how toddlers are more likely to choose brightly coloured bottles of hazardous cleaning products than their own toys
EXCLUSIVE: 'Body parts falling out of colorful sarongs,' 'hog-tying people and walking them on a collar and leash' - What I gave up when I quit The Game by (now married) sex addict and pick-up artist Neil Strauss

Pictures show Russian jets dropping their latest payload of bombs in Syria
It comes despite Moscow's announcement it was easing back on air strikes
Move is in response to widening ground offensive by Syrian armed forces
US and Russia also nearing agreement on measures to avoid confrontation

Published: 23:46 EST, 15 October 2015 | Updated: 03:46 EST, 16 October 2015

View
comments

Russian jets have been pictured dropping their latest payload of bombs on 'terrorist targets' in Syria despite Moscow's announcement that its warplanes were easing back on air strikes.

The decision was made in response to a widening ground offensive by regime forces in war-torn Damascus, according to Russia's defence ministry.

In a statement released on Thursday it said the country had launched 32 attacks on 'terrorist targets' over the past 24 hours, compared with some 86 the previous day.

Meanwhile President Vladimir Putin has criticised the US for not cooperating over the conflict despite the two nations nearing an agreement on measures to avoid confrontation in Syria.

Scroll down for video

Payload: Russian jets have been pictured dropping their latest bombs on 'terrorist targets' in war-torn Syria

It comes despite Moscow's announcement that its warplanes were easing back on air strikes in response to a widening ground offensive by Syrian armed forces. A pilot of Russia's Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft is pictured

Russia also announced that a hotline had been set up with Israel to ensure there would be no clashes between their air forces.

Outlining Moscow's reasoning for cutting back the air strikes, a defence ministry statement said: 'The intensity of the sorties... has slightly decreased in the past day,' because 'the front line with the terrorist groups of ISIL (Islamic State group) is changing as a result of active offensives by the Syrian armed forces.'

The latest strikes by Russia's Sukhoi Su-30 fighter planes targeted Damascus, Idlib, Hama, Deir Ezzor, and Aleppo provinces.

In Aleppo, explosives destroyed an IS command post and an underground bomb-making workshop, the ministry said.

Also eliminated were artillery positions in Khan Sheikhun in Hama, one of the targets of the Syrian military offensive.

The ministry added: 'The militants are retreating, trying to set up new positions and change the logistic system providing them with ammunition, weaponry and materials.'

Syrian television, citing a military source, said the army had begun an operation in the north and northwest of Homs province 'with the goal of restoring security and stability to the villages and towns in the area'.

It said its forces had taken control of one village north of the city.

Bombing run: In a statement, Russia's defence ministry said it had launched 32 attacks on 'terrorist targets' over the past 24 hours, compared with some 86 the previous day. This image was captured on Thursday

Meanwhile Barack Obama (left) has been criticised by Vladimir Putin (right) over what the Russian president said was the US's failure to cooperate on the conflict in Syria

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, reported at least ten people, six of them rebels, had been killed in a barrage of Russian air strikes in the area.

The Homs offensive is the latest joint operation since Moscow began its aerial campaign on September 30.

The fighting appears intended to secure the main highway that leads from Homs to neighbouring Hama's provincial capital Hama city.

The cities are almost totally controlled by the government, but moderates, Islamists and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front hold territory in between.

On Thursday, state television said loyalists had seized two small villages in northern Hama, extending their push towards Idlib, which is controlled by a rebel alliance known as the Army of Conquest.

The advances have come with the support of a Russian air campaign Moscow says is targeting Isis and others it describes as 'terrorists'.

But rebels and their international backers say the intervention is intended to bolster President Bashar al-Assad and has targeted moderate and Islamist opposition forces rather than jihadists.

Russia's entry into the conflict has raised fears of a potential confrontation with the US-led coalition that began air strikes against Isis in Syria and Iraq more than a year ago.

Deal: However, the two nations are nearing an agreement on measures to avoid confrontation in the war-torn country. Russia's latest air strikes targeted Damascus, Idlib, Hama, Deir Ezzor, and Aleppo provinces

Targets: In Aleppo, explosives destroyed an Isis command post and an underground bomb-making workshop, Russia said. Also eliminated were artillery positions in Khan Sheikhun in Hama. A Russian pilot is pictured

Meanwhile, a senior official in key regional Syrian ally Iran said Tehran would consider sending fighters to aid Damascus if they were requested.

Alaedin Boroujerdi, chairman of the parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, said: 'If Syria makes a request, we will study the request and make a decision.'

Turkey and Saudi Arabia, two of Assad's fiercest opponents, warned Russia on Friday of the consequences of its foray into the conflict.

'Russia is making a big mistake,' Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu told reporters after talks in Ankara with Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir.

The intensity of the sorties... has slightly decreased in the past day

Russian defence ministry

He added: 'What it does will bring no meaning or benefit, other than delaying the transition process to help Syria out of the chaos.'

Turkey said earlier this month that Russian aircraft operating in Syria twice violated the air space of the key NATO member.

Washington this week rebuffed Moscow's suggestion of broader talks on Syria, prompting criticism from Putin on Thursday.

'I believe this is an unconstructive position,' he said on a visit to Kazakhstan. 'It looks like they have nothing to talk about.'

However, the Russian defence ministry said an 'information-sharing' mechanism has been established through a hotline between the Russian command centre in Syria and a command post of the Israeli air force.

Israel has reportedly launched air strikes in Syria against Iranian arms transfers to Hezbollah and Israeli officials are believed to fear that Russia's intervention could limit their room for manoeuvre.

More than 245,000 people have been killed in Syria since March 2011, and more than four million have fled their country.