Having conducted two weeks of a continuous around the clock air campaign over Syria, Russia continues to claim that they are indeed striking various ISIS targets in the country as well as the Syrian rebels.
An airstrike on a terrorist target near the village of Al-Mastumah in Syria’s northern Idlib province destroyed an Islamic State installation used as a transfer point for militants coming to Syria from other countries.
On Sunday, October 11th, The Guardian reported information that strongly contradicted the Russian reports:
With these constant Russian claims, reports, videos and briefings showing the Russian Air Force bombing ISIS targets, the State Department as reported by The Guardian last week stated that a large majority of Russia’s military strikes in Syria have not been aimed at the Islamic State group or jihadists tied to al-Qaida, and have instead targeted the moderate Syrian opposition, the US State Department said on Wednesday.
According to Rear Admiral Kirby, “Greater than 90% of the strikes that we’ve seen them take to date have not been against Isil or al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists.”
Since last week, the Pentagon has been relatively silent on the subject and appears more concerned about the threat of air to air incidents over Syria. They’ve requested more talks with the Russians about the issue.
Meanwhile, with Russia apparently attacking ISIS targets, ISIS went on the offensive on October 10th and seized territory in Aleppo province controlled by the Syrian rebels. The Aleppo rebels had been pounded from the air by the Russians.
It is obvious that the Russians are indeed bombing the Syrian rebels, but they are also attacking ISIS targets as well. As the days go by and the damage from Russian bombs begins to cripple ISIS, Americans and indeed the world must wonder what was Operation Inherent Resolve, the failed US led air campaign against ISIS all about?
