This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/07/russian-jets-pound-syrian-provinces-in-fresh-wave-of-attacks-says-watchdog

The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Russia says warships in Caspian Sea targeting Isis in Syria Syrian troops launch ground offensive backed by Russian airstrikes
(35 minutes later)
Four Russian warships in the Caspian Sea have launched 26 rockets at Islamic State in Syria, Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, told president Vladimir Putin during a televised meeting. Ground troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have launched a major offensive in central Syria backed by Russian airstrikes, in an escalation in Moscow’s week-long campaign, which has so far been restricted to airstrikes to soften up rebel positions near major loyalist strongholds.
The claim, which could not be immediately confirmed, came after a Syrian official and activists said Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes battled rebels in two provinces in what appeared to be the first major coordinated assault since Moscow intervened in the conflict. Activists said Russian fighter jets bombed a series of towns held by the opposition in Hama’s countryside in concert with a push by regime troops and armoured vehicles and the deployment of Russian helicopters, in what was described as the fiercest combat in months.
Shoigu said the operation destroyed all the targets and that no strikes were lauched upon civilian areas. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group with wide contacts inside Syria, said Russian fighter jets also bombed targets in the province of Idlib, most of which is held by a coalition of rebels known as Jaysh al-Fateh, which includes the al-Qaida wing in Syria.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a Syrian government offensive began on four fronts on Wednesday morning in the north-western provinces of Idlib and neighbouring Hama. Its director, Rami Abdurrahman, described it as “the most intense fighting in months”. A Syrian official later confirmed the new offensive. Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said four warships in the Caspian Sea launched 26 rockets at Islamic State targets in Syria. The claim could not be immediately confirmed.
The latest developments come exactly a week after Russia began launching airstrikes in Syria. Moscow says it is targeting Isis and al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate, but at least some of the strikes over the past week appear to have hit western-backed factions. The Syrian push on the ground is the first time Assad’s forces have coordinated with the Russian airforce in an attempt to seize lost territory from opposition forces, ushering in some of the fiercest fighting in months in the civil war, which has now lasted four and a half years and killed over a quarter of a million people.
Russia’s airstrikes hit northern parts of Hama province and nearby areas in Idlib province, targeting towns close to the main north-south highway that runs through major cities in western Syria, the Observatory said. The assault mirrors the US strategy in northern Syria, where coalition planes bombed Islamic State positions to pave the way for their allies on the ground to advance against the militants. It also poses the question of how much territory the regime’s army, exhausted and depleted by the conflict, can seize from the rebels.
Ground attacks using heavy surface-to-surface missile bombardments targeted at least four insurgent positions in the area and there were heavy clashes on the ground, it added. Most of the fighting appeared to be concentrated in Hama, a central province with a majority Sunni capital that has remained in the hands of the regime since the start of the war, and which is key to Assad’s strategy of cementing control over major population centres in a strip of territory from Latakia in the north, through to Homs and Hama and Damascus.
Rebels recently attempted to wrest control of the strategic al-Ghab plain in Hama’s countryside, drawing closer to Assad’s coastal strongholds, and the Russian strategy seems primarily aimed at securing this territory from further incursions.
Jaysh al-Fateh conquered most of Idlib in a spring offensive, forcing the regime to abandon the province. Russian airstrikes have repeatedly targeted the province over the past week, though there is no known Isis presence in the area.
Related: Turkey 'cannot endure' Russian violation of airspace, president saysRelated: Turkey 'cannot endure' Russian violation of airspace, president says
Abdurrahman, who tracks the conflict using sources in Syria, said the ground assault was being carried out by regime forces and their allies, with no immediate sign of Russian involvement on the ground. The Syrian observatory said Russian planes also bombed targets on the outskirts of the historic city of Palmyra, which was seized by Isis in May, and the town of Qaryatain, which was also seized by the militants this summer and whose Christian residents have either been taken hostage or fled.
Most of Idlib province is held by an insurgent alliance that includes al-Qaida’s Syrian wing, the Nusra Front, and other Islamist factions. Syrian state TV said airstrikes also hit Isis positions in northern Aleppo.
The head of the Iraqi parliament’s defence and security committee said Iraq may request Russian airstrikes against Isis on its soil soon and wants Moscow to have a bigger role than the US in the war against the group. Still, it is unclear if the Assad regime will be able to score major ground advances against the rebels after years of vicious warfare that has sapped his armed forces, and amid widespread dereliction of duty among its conscripts, while facing rebels who are united by their anger at the Russian intervention.
“We might be forced to ask Russia to launch air strikes in Iraq soon. I think the upcoming few days or weeks Iraq will be forced to ask Russia to launch airstrikes and that depends on their success in Syria,” Hakim al-Zamili told Reuters. “Russia is primarily targeting opposition fighters, and this could end any future peace process in Syria and strengthen the role of Islamic State and the extreme factions that do not want peace, whether they support or oppose the regime,” said SOHR director Rami Abdul Rahman.
Iraq’s government and powerful Iranian-backed Shia militias question the United States’ resolve in fighting Isis, which controls a third of the country, saying US-led coalition air strikes are ineffective. The latest airstrikes and ground assault come amid heightened tensions between Russia and Nato, after a Russian fighter plane penetrated Turkish airspace over the weekend, sparking protests and condemnation from the alliance with pledges to respond to future incursions.
The Russian ministry of defence said it was continuing to consult with Turkey to ensure there would be no repetition of the incident.
The head of the Iraqi parliament’s defence and security committee said Iraq may request Russian airstrikes against Isis on its soil soon, and wants Moscow to have a bigger role than the US in the war against the group.
“We might be forced to ask Russia to launch airstrikes in Iraq soon. I think the upcoming few days or weeks Iraq will be forced to ask Russia to launch airstrikes and that depends on their success in Syria,” Hakim al-Zamili told Reuters.