Russia begins conducting airstrikes in Syria, U.S. official says

Posted 2015-09-30 13:15 by Grunt Report

MOSCOW — Russian warplanes launched airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday, a U.S. official said, after Russia’s parliament granted President Vladi­mir Putin authorization to use military force in the multi-layered conflict.

A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss Russian operations, told The Washington Post that Russia began conducting airstrikes in Syria. It was not immediately clear whether it was one airstrike or multiple sorties, the official said.

CNN, citing U.S. officials, said the air attack struck near the Syrian city of Homs.

The move by Russian lawmakers capped a speedy military and diplomatic effort by Russia in recent weeks to bolster the government of Bashar al-Assad, a longtime Moscow ally who is deadlocked in a bloody war with secular and Islamist rebel groups.

Kremlin officials said that Assad had requested Russian military support and that Russian planes would strike targets in Syria at the Syrian government’s request. Putin has also urged for an international coalition to battle the Islamic State, which holds territory in Syria and Iraq.

But the deeper engagement could complicate the outreach between Washington and Moscow over defense issues, including efforts to open channels to avoid possible conflicts in the web of battles in Syria.

The United States and NATO allies have expressed concern at the widening Russian military role in support of Assad. At the same time, American warplanes and others wage airstrikes against ­Islamic State positions in Syria.

[Russia’s strategy in Syria could be work in progress]

Assad’s forces are also blamed by the West and others for crackdowns and attacks that have forced millions to flee the country — and now joining a wave of migrants and asylum seeking pouring into Europe.

“Russia will factually be the only country to carry out this operation on the legitimate basis of the request of the legitimate government of Syria,” Dmitri S. Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, told journalists after the vote.

A U.S.-led coalition has launched thousands of airstrikes in Syria in the past year, and the United States has armed and trained some of the anti-Assad rebels. Peskov did not answer when asked if Russian forces had already begun to launch strikes in Syria.