By Erin Cunningham and Andrew Roth, Washington Post, October 7, 2015
BEIRUT–Russian missiles fired from Caspian Sea warships traveled more than 900 miles to strike targets in Syria on Wednesday as Syrian government forces opened a ground offensive into areas that include rebel factions, officials said.
The bombardment marked the first naval salvos in Russia’s week-old military intervention and another sharp escalation of Moscow’s firepower in Syria’s multi-faction civil war.
The path of the cruise missiles was not immediately clear, but a route from the Caspian could require coordination with Iran and Iraq. Like Moscow, Iran is a key backer of Syria’s embattled President Bashar al-Assad. Iraq’s leadership has close ties with Iran, but also depends on support from the United States and Western allies.
Another possible route would take missiles over NATO-member Turkey, where previous violations of Turkish airspace by Russian warplanes brought stern warnings from the Western military alliance.
In Moscow, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said four Russian warships carried out 26 missile strikes against 11 targets, but gave no other details.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a television meeting with Shoigu, said the missiles were fired from “the water of the Caspian Sea from 1,500 kilometers away.”
Putin added that the strikes “destroyed all the planned targets speaks to the good preparation and the enterprises of the military-industrial complex and the good training of the personnel.”
The comments came after a wave of Russian sea and air attacks that appeared launched in coordination with Syrian forces seeking to reclaim territory after a string of defeats before the Russian military aid.
The Syrian push represents the first major ground advance since Moscow began airstrikes last week in support of Assad.
The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that its main aim is to drive back the Islamic State in Syria. But the United States and allies say the Russian attacks have concentrated on areas that include strongholds of Western-backed rebel units and others.
A Syrian official, cited by the Associated Press, said the new ground operations are concentrated in the western province of Hama and northwest province of Idlib.
Earlier, Syrian activists said Russian airstrikes hit rebel sites in both areas in apparent preparation for ground troops.
Wednesday’s airstrikes were carried out by Russian fighter jets and attack helicopters, activists said. There were no immediate reports of casualties, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Russia has staged a assive military build-up in pro-regime areas of Syria in recent weeks. The United States, too, is launching air raids on Islamic State targets in parts of the country.
In Rome, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter did not respond directly when asked by reporters about the Russian military’s apparent support for the Syrian government’s ground offensive.
But the Pentagon chief for the first time ruled out any cooperation with Moscow in the fight against Islamic State, saying that Russia’s strategy was clearly just to support Assad and his government.
“We believe Russia has the wrong strategy. They continue to hit targets that are not ISIL. This is a fundamental mistake,” Carter said, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State.
In the past, the Obama administration has publicly held out hope–however faint–that Moscow might cooperate in the military campaign against Islamic State.
In his most hard-line comments to date about Russia, Carter rejected the possibility of teaming up with the Russians in that regard. He said the Pentagon still wanted to talk with Moscow about finding ways to manage the crowded airspace above Syria and avoid any hostile or inadvertent encounters. “That’s it,” he said flatly.
“We are not prepared to cooperate on strategy, which as we explained is flawed–tragically flawed–on Russia’s part,” Carter said during a joint press conference with Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti. “We continue to have a fundamental strategic disagreement.”
BEIRUT–Russian missiles fired from Caspian Sea warships traveled more than 900 miles to strike targets in Syria on Wednesday as Syrian government forces opened a ground offensive into areas that include rebel factions, officials said.
The bombardment marked the first naval salvos in Russia’s week-old military intervention and another sharp escalation of Moscow’s firepower in Syria’s multi-faction civil war.
The path of the cruise missiles was not immediately clear, but a route from the Caspian could require coordination with Iran and Iraq. Like Moscow, Iran is a key backer of Syria’s embattled President Bashar al-Assad. Iraq’s leadership has close ties with Iran, but also depends on support from the United States and Western allies.
Another possible route would take missiles over NATO-member Turkey, where previous violations of Turkish airspace by Russian warplanes brought stern warnings from the Western military alliance.
In Moscow, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said four Russian warships carried out 26 missile strikes against 11 targets, but gave no other details.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a television meeting with Shoigu, said the missiles were fired from “the water of the Caspian Sea from 1,500 kilometers away.”
Putin added that the strikes “destroyed all the planned targets speaks to the good preparation and the enterprises of the military-industrial complex and the good training of the personnel.”
The comments came after a wave of Russian sea and air attacks that appeared launched in coordination with Syrian forces seeking to reclaim territory after a string of defeats before the Russian military aid.
The Syrian push represents the first major ground advance since Moscow began airstrikes last week in support of Assad.
The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that its main aim is to drive back the Islamic State in Syria. But the United States and allies say the Russian attacks have concentrated on areas that include strongholds of Western-backed rebel units and others.
A Syrian official, cited by the Associated Press, said the new ground operations are concentrated in the western province of Hama and northwest province of Idlib.
Earlier, Syrian activists said Russian airstrikes hit rebel sites in both areas in apparent preparation for ground troops.
Wednesday’s airstrikes were carried out by Russian fighter jets and attack helicopters, activists said. There were no immediate reports of casualties, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Russia has staged a assive military build-up in pro-regime areas of Syria in recent weeks. The United States, too, is launching air raids on Islamic State targets in parts of the country.
In Rome, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter did not respond directly when asked by reporters about the Russian military’s apparent support for the Syrian government’s ground offensive.
But the Pentagon chief for the first time ruled out any cooperation with Moscow in the fight against Islamic State, saying that Russia’s strategy was clearly just to support Assad and his government.
“We believe Russia has the wrong strategy. They continue to hit targets that are not ISIL. This is a fundamental mistake,” Carter said, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State.
In the past, the Obama administration has publicly held out hope–however faint–that Moscow might cooperate in the military campaign against Islamic State.
In his most hard-line comments to date about Russia, Carter rejected the possibility of teaming up with the Russians in that regard. He said the Pentagon still wanted to talk with Moscow about finding ways to manage the crowded airspace above Syria and avoid any hostile or inadvertent encounters. “That’s it,” he said flatly.
“We are not prepared to cooperate on strategy, which as we explained is flawed–tragically flawed–on Russia’s part,” Carter said during a joint press conference with Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti. “We continue to have a fundamental strategic disagreement.”
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