Thursday, October 22, 2015 – The USA has indications that four Russian cruise missiles crashed in Iran rather than Syria, suggesting there were malfunctions, Defense Secretary Ash Carter confirmed Friday.
It was unclear exactly where in Iran the Russian missiles might have landed, or whether they caused any casualties or damage.
Moscow says it is targeting mainly Islamic State militants, but USA officials and Syrian rebels have said the strikes have hit mainstream rebels for the most part and are created to shore up Assad’s embattled government and troops.
The Russian defence ministry had posted a graphic on its website showing 26 missiles flying over Iran and Iraq before striking inside Syria.
Iran has been providing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army with military advice in its fight against rebels since the civil war broke out in 2011. Even the press seldom mentions them though they are responsible for more civilian deaths, estimated at almost 150,000, than any other group.
Moscow said it had hit Islamic State positions, but the areas it struck are mostly held by a rival insurgent alliance, which, unlike Islamic State, is supported by USA allies including Arab states and Turkey.
Despite the Russian action, the Islamic State group advanced today to the outskirts of Aleppo in an offensive that also took the jihadists to within a few kilometres (miles) of regime troops defending the city, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Since there is no anti-air threat aimed at Russian Federation in Syria, they could simply use their fighter and attack aircraft to strike these targets instead of sending expensive missiles through two of countries to do so.
A military source in the Sahl al-Ghab plain told AFP Russian Federation had targeted at least three villages there Thursday morning.
The violation of Turkish air space by two Russian jets last weekend brought the Syrian conflict across North Atlantic Treaty Organization borders, but Bilgiç said that no Russian delegation had yet been sent to Ankara to explain the incursions.