Russia says to step up air strikes in Syria
- 9 years ago
Russia said on Saturday it will step up air strikes in Syria, escalating a military intervention which Moscow says is weakening Islamic State militants but which Western powers say aims to support President Bashar al-Assad.
A senior Russian military officer said Russian jets based in western Syria had carried out more than 60 sorties in 72 hours across Syria.
"We will not only continue strikes... We will also increase their intensity," said Andrei Kartapolov from the Russian army General Staff.
Russia's air campaign in Syria, where a U.S.-led air coalition and fighters on the ground from regional states are already entangled in a four-year-old civil war, has drawn strong criticism from the United States and its allies.
President Barack Obama, wary of military commitments in the Middle East after America's costly war in Iraq, warned President Vladimir Putin he was defending a crumbling authoritarian ally and could be sucked into a "quagmire".
A senior Russian military officer said Russian jets based in western Syria had carried out more than 60 sorties in 72 hours across Syria.
"We will not only continue strikes... We will also increase their intensity," said Andrei Kartapolov from the Russian army General Staff.
Russia's air campaign in Syria, where a U.S.-led air coalition and fighters on the ground from regional states are already entangled in a four-year-old civil war, has drawn strong criticism from the United States and its allies.
President Barack Obama, wary of military commitments in the Middle East after America's costly war in Iraq, warned President Vladimir Putin he was defending a crumbling authoritarian ally and could be sucked into a "quagmire".