Russia took to the air in Syria in what Vladimir Putin calls a fight against ISIS…
…except the area they’re hitting (around Homs) doesn’t have ISIS fighters (BBC).
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.
Truth be told, this shouldn’t surprise. As I’ve discussed earlier, Russia’s ally in the fight – tyrant Bashar Assad – has largely left ISIS alone, while concentrating on fighting anyone else who opposes him. Even as Assad’s mouthpieces announced the Russian entry into the conflict…(Guardian)
…though they said the Russians targeted Isis, later in the announcement they said Talbiseh includes several terrorist factions including Jabhat al Nusra, Ahrar al Sham and others, but did not mention Isis.
Whoops.
The double-talk from Assad is so obvious that even John Kerry gets it (Guardian again): “the reality is that Assad has rarely chosen himself to fight Isil.”
I don’t expect Putin to be any different.
