Russian airstrikes in Syria


 * ''See also Russian deployment in Syria

In September 2015 Russia deployed a large contingent of air and land forces to Syria. On September 30 Russia launched airstrikes on ISIS, al-Nusra Front and other rebel groups, including ones created and supported by the US. The move came as a surprise to US officials and has been criticized by US proxy groups, including the White Helmets.

As of October 2, 2015 the Russian strike force consists of over 50 aircraft, including twelve Su-24s, twelve Su-25s, four Su-30s, six Su-34s and a number of helicopters.

Map

 * Russian airstrikes in Syria by @Radicalenzyme
 * ''Interactive map of Russian airstrikes in Syria. Map will be continually updated. Twitter.com/Radicalenzyme

Video

 * Новейшие бомбардировщики СУ-34 вернулись с боевого задания в Сирии - Новости, Oct 1, 2015
 * Воздушная операция российской авиации в Сирийской Арабской Республике - Russian MoD playlist on YouTube
 * Russia deploy Air Force in Syria - Ruptly TV playlist on YouTube

Targeting CIA-sponsored rebels

 * Russian Airstrike in Syria Targeted CIA-Backed Rebels, U.S. Officials Say - Adam Entous, The Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2015
 * Western-backed Syrian rebel group says hit by Russian air strikes - Dasha Afanasieva, Reuters, Sep 30, 2015
 * ''"The northern countryside of Hama has no presence of ISIS at all and is under the control of the Free Syrian Army," Major Jamil al-Saleh, who defected from the Syrian army in 2012, told Reuters via Skype.
 * ''Saleh said his group had been supplied with advanced anti-tank missiles by foreign powers opposed to Assad.
 * ''"In the early morning this aircraft conducted air strikes in Latamneh city. One targeted a civilian area, and the other targeted al-Izza," Saleh said, referring to his group which he said were set up around two years ago and has 1,500 fighters.
 * With One Bombing Run Russia Gets the US to Acknowledge CIA’s “Covert” Regime Change Forces - emptywheel, October 1, 2015
 * US, Russia To Deconflict in Syria. According to TASS version, American position was that military activity should be focused on ISIS; and that Russian strikes were not in ISIS stronghold areas; but Pentagon has 'no information' that strikes against pro-American/Western rebels already occurred. (According to Syrian and Russian sources, strikes may be supporting planned Syrian army advance in Hama province).
 * Russian Airstrikes in Syria Targeted 'NATO Created Mercenaries' - Sputnik, October 1, 2015 (The headline kind of says it all.)
 * Russia Carries Out Airstrikes in Syria for 2nd Day - ANNE BARNARD and ANDREW E. KRAMER, The New York Times, October 1, 2015
 * ''The new round of strikes on Thursday — conducted with two models of Soviet-era warplanes, the Su-25 Frogfoot and Su-24 Fencer — was said by Mayadeen, a pro-Damascus news channel, to target the Army of Conquest, a coalition of insurgent groups that include the Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, the hard-line Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham and a range of less extreme Islamist groups — all of which oppose the Islamic State.
 * Russia bombs CIA-trained Syrian rebels - Reuters, October 2, 2015
 * ''Hassan Haj Ali, head of the Liwa Suqour al-Jabal rebel group that is part of the Free Syrian Army, told Reuters one of the targets was his group's base in Idlib province, struck by about 20 missiles in two separate raids. His fighters had been trained by the CIA in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, part of a program Washington says is aimed at supporting groups that oppose both Islamic State and Assad.
 * ''"Russia is challenging everyone and saying there is no alternative to Bashar," Haj Ali said. He said the Russian jets had been identified by members of his group who once served as Syrian air force pilots.
 * ''The group is one of at least three foreign-backed FSA rebel factions to say they had been hit by the Russians in the last two days.
 * 'Russia kills US-backed Syrian rebels in second day of air strikes as Iran prepares for ground offensive' - Raziye Akkoc, and Roland Oliphant, The Telegraph, 02 October 2, 2015
 * U.S. assessment on Russia in Syria: A 'strategic blunder' - Elise Labott, CNN, October 2, 2015
 * ''And while U.S. officials have no plans to cede Russia any ground, they also said it appears that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a dramatic chess move that the Russians have not thought through -- one official even called it a "strategic blunder." Had the Russians been clear that they are providing support in Syria to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regime's collapse -- a scenario that would benefit ISIS -- they might have gotten some credit on the world stage. But their very first strikes in the region hit CIA-backed anti-Assad rebel forces, Arizona Republican John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Thursday on CNN's "New Day."
 * "They're Hopping Mad In The US And Saudi Arabia": Russian Strikes In Syria Spark Epic Western Media Propaganda Blitz - ZeroHedge, October 2, 2015
 * By Bombing Terrorists in Syria Russia Hits Washington's Raw Nerve - Sputnik, October 2, 2015
 * ''Russia is undoubtedly bombing insurgents supported by the US, but that is only because Washington has intentionally supported Al Qaeda and ISIL in Syria, geopolitical researcher Tony Cartalucci remarks.

Ltamenah cave compound
Tajamu Ala'azza" HQ in Ltamenah (location)
 * إستهداف أحد المقرات (Targeting a headquarters) - تجمع العزة, Sep 30, 2015
 * Russian Su-24 bombers hit the 1st Coastal Division (Forqat al-Awwal As-Sahli), a US sponsored "moderate rebel" group. The target is an underground bunker with ventilation shafts. See video @1:24 -- Also note cave entrance at 0:30.
 * الطيران الروسي يقصف مواقع للجيش الحر في ريف حماة بحسب مايؤكده الرائد جميل الصالح (Russian aviation bombed FSA sites in Hama, according to Maj. Jamil Saleh Maaakdh) - Mahmoud al-Hamwi, Sep 30, 2015
 * Воздушные удары по объектам террористической группировки ИГИЛ (Air strikes against targets of the terrorist group ISIL) - Russian Defence Ministry

3-level headquarters

 * First struck at daytime on September 30. See MoD video at 0:27
 * Struck again at nighttime on the morning of October 1. The first strike was not very accurate, as seen by the craters left on the field. See MoD video at start

Mountain Hawks Brigade training camp

 * Video shows Russian air raids affect the "MODERATE OPPOSITION" factions in the province of Idlib - Eldorar Alshamia, October 1, 2015
 * Video: عدسة الدرر الشامية ترصد الغارات الروسية على تجمع صقور الجبل بريف إدلب (Levantine Pearls reports on Russian raids on the Mountain Hawks Brigade Brive in Idlib) - October 1, 2015

Raqqa mountain bunker
"Su-34 bombers destroyed an ISIS hardened command centre near Raqqah using a concrete-piercing bomb BETAB-500. The direct hit of the aerial weapon at the mountain facility caused detonation of explosives and multiple fires which completely destroyed the object"-Russian MoD video. (Follows earlier US criticism for using dumb bombs and targeting non-ISIS areas).


 * Russia’s Secret War on the CIA in Syria - Gordon Duff, VT, October 2, 2015
 * ''Today’s Russian attack on a command post killed very few al Qaeda leaders. What it did do is kill Turkish, Saudi and Qatari officers, over a dozen, maybe more, according to Syrian reconnaissance units in the area.
 * ''The command post was hit by SU34 aircraft dropping conventional bunker buster munitions. The post, built by Turkish engineers back in 2013, under up to 40 feet of bedrock, 3 stories deep and capable of supporting up to 300 foreign fighters and their Turkish commanders.

Jisr al-Shugur area

 * Russian air grouping attacks IS ten facilities — defence ministry - TASS, October 4, 2015
 * ''Su-24M and Su-34 bombers attacked eight facilities in Jisr ash-Shugur, destroying three ammunition dumps, where the ammo detonated as it was hit by a KAB-500 air bomb.
 * Video: Russian MoD, October 4, 2015
 * Нанесение удара с применением корректируемых авиабомб по командным пунктам ИГИЛ
 * ''Using guided aviation bombs, the jets destroyed four command posts of the ISIS armed groups located in Jisr al-Shugur area. The facilities with terrorists are completely destroyed.
 * Нанесение удара по командному пункту террористов ИГИЛ, расположенному в горной местности
 * ''Strikes against command post and munition depot of the ISIS terrorists located in the mountainous area 13 km west of the town of Jisr al-Shughur. As a result, the impact of aviation is visible detonation, ammunition and caused a fire. The object is destroyed.
 * These are not ISIS ammunition dumps, but most likely "FSA" weapons distribution points somewhere near the Turkish border. Most likely CIA employees, including US citizens where nearby.
 * Note, that FSA has long ago ceased to be an army. It now serves as a trademark for the US / CIA weapons supply chain. -- Petri Krohn (talk) 17:02, 4 October 2015 (UTC)

Rebel allegations

 * Syrian rebels say Russia targets them rather than Islamic State - Anne Barnard, The New York Times, September 30, 2015 (mirror)
 * ''“They are the most violent strikes,” says a man filming the grim aftermath of what he asserts was a Russian air attack on the town of Talbiseh, in the Homs province of Syria. “This is the Russian criminal regime.”


 * Russian fighter jet SU-25 shot down by Syrian rebels in Hama - Murad Gamzayev, Oct 1, 2015
 * Video at 21s shows maybe a ground-to-air missile exploding and a pilot ejecting.

Talbisah

 * ''As claimed by rebels

AP, September 30: Syrian Group Says Russian Strikes Killed 36 (civilians)
 * The Syrian National Council opposition group says Russian airstrikes north of Homs city killed 36 civilians, including five children and one member of the civil defense units known as the White Helmets.


 * Khaled Khoja, leader of the group, says at a press conference at the United Nations Wednesday that the strikes also hit a base for the Free Syrian Army but resulted in no casualties. He said there are no Islamic State group forces in the four areas struck Wednesday.

The Radicalenzyme map places 4 strikes in Talbisah and Rastan to the north on September 30 and one nearby to the south the following day. One September 30 impact is labeled "Russian jets reportedly hit the bread distribution depot which also served as the HQ of the Local civilian council.  According to the local field hospital all the dead where civilians. Reports of 11 killed and 20 wounded." Another just north of it says "Iyad Deek commander of Homs Liberation Movement was killed by a Russian air strike."

Video: ("paneling" = Talbisah)
 * تلبيسة لحظة استهداف المدينة بالصوراخ الفراغية من الطيران الروسي 30 9 2015 (Paneling moment the city targeting Balsourakh stereochemistry of the Russian Aviation 30 9 2015) - Talbisah News, September 30, 2015
 * تلبيسة صلاة الجنازة على بعض شهداء مجزرة الطيران الروسي 30 9 2015 (Paneling funeral prayers for the martyrs of the massacre of some Russian Aviation 30 9 2015)
 * #شبكة_تلبيسة_مباشر(High explosive raids by Russian warplanes targeted residential neighborhoods in the city of paneling] uploaded by Diaa al-Homsi 30 September, 2015 (smoke plumes - connected to alleged bread center strike)
 * تلبيسة لحظة الوصول لمكان سقوط الصواريخ الفراغية 30 9 2015 (Paneling instant access to the place of the fall of the spatial rockets 30 92 015) uploaded September 30, 2015 by talbisa h (damage and rescue efforts - connected to alleged bread center strike)

Western reaction

 * Col. Jack Jacobs Syria Advice For Obama: "Shut Up," "We Don't Even Have A Strategy" - Squawk Box, October 1, 2015
 * Obama Accuses Russia of Going After America’s “Good Guy Terrorists” - Prof Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, October 1, 2015
 * Does Article II Authorize the U.S. Military to Defend CIA-Trained Syrian Forces against a Russian Attack? - Robert Chesney, Lawfare, October 1, 2015
 * ''"If Syrian government forces attack the Syrian fighters we have trained and equipped while they were engaging ISIL, the President would have the authority under Article II of the Constitution to defend those fighters," a senior administration official told Defense One.

Analysis

 * Russian Military Intervention in Syria - Gordon M. Hahn, September 30, 2015
 * No ISIS Where Russia Is Bombing–Except Last Week, When ISIS Was Killing Gay Men There? - Jim Naureckas, FAIR, September 30, 2015
 * Putin Hijacks Obama’s War on ISIS - The Daily Beast, September 30, 2015
 * The Real Story Behind Putin’s Syria Strikes - POLITICO.COM
 * Ron Paul - Assad must go, Assad must stay? Ron Paul Liberty Report
 * Russia's First Reported Air Strikes in Syria Assist Regime with Targeting Broader Opposition - ISW, September 30, 2015
 * Two Scenarios for Russia’s Engagement Against ISIL in Syria - Sputnik, October 1, 2015
 * Russia's Air War in Syria: Its Organisation and Purpose - Daniel Fielding, Russia Insider, October 2, 2015