Sunday 18 September 2016

America acts as ISIS's air force

A 'mistake' the Americans say via the BBC.

I can't find any evidence of reporting on this from the main representatives of the Empire (NYT, the Guardian etc.)

 ‘The US-led coalition has admitted its planes carried out an attack in eastern Syria that the Russian army says killed at least 62 Syrian troops fighting IS.”
The Russian Ministry of Defence has just held a press conference. More details to come.
US Admits It Made A Mistake After Syria Accuses Coalition Of Killing 62 Soldiers In Act Of "Blatant Aggression"


17 September, 2016


Update 3: Russia foreign ministry says it has "reached the terrifying conclusion" that the US is conniving with the Islamic State.


Russian foreign ministry says has reached terrifying conclusion that US is conniving with ISIS

* * *
Update 2: it appears that Russia is angry, and has called a UN Security Council session, while reporting that Washington never announced any plans to conduct raids in the region in question:


Russian foreign ministry says has reached terrifying conclusion that US is conniving with ISIS



DEVELOPING : didn't annouces any plans to conduct raids in .



Update: Centcom has issued a statement admitting the killing of over 60 Syrian troops was a mistake.


Centcom. sounds like it was a mistake

Earlier:

If the latest news out of Syria are confirmed, one can not only kiss last weekend's so-called "ceasefire" goodbye, but a full blown war may be about to erupt. The reason: moments ago the Syrian Army General Command reported, and shortly thereafter the Russian military confirmed, that US-coalition forces struck the Syrian airbase at Deir el-Zour, killing at least 62 Syrian army troops, "paving the way" for ISIS militants to advance in the fiercely contested area.


State TV: U.S. warplanes hit Syrian army base in Deir ez-Zor

According to Syria’s official SANA news agency, the bombing took place on al-Tharda Mountain in the region of Deir ez-Zor and caused casualties and destruction on the ground.
Sixty-two Syrian soldiers were killed and over 100 injured in the airstrike by the US-led coalition, Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, confirmed citing information received from the Syrian General Command.
There was no immediate comment from Washington. If confirmed, the attack could be tantamount to an act of war as it would be the first time the coalition has targeted Syrian government forces.  Subsequently, the Pentagon told RT that it is “aware of the reports and checking with Centcom and CJTF (Combined Joint Task Force)."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Russian Foreign Minister 

 Sergei Lavrov walk into their meeting room in Geneva, Switzerland

In a statement Saturday, the Syrian military says the airstrikes caused casualties and damage to equipment, and enabled an IS advance on the hill overlooking the air base. The statement calls it a "serious and blatant attack on Syria and its military" and "firm proof of the U.S. support of Daesh and other terrorist groups." Daesh is an Arabic acronym for IS.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the aircraft which carried out the bombings had entered Syrian airspace from the territory of Iraq.  Four strikes against Syrian positions was performed by two F-16 jet fighters and two A-10 support aircraft, it dded.

"Immediately after the airstrike by coalition planes, Islamic State militants launched their offensive. Fierce fighting with the terrorists is currently underway in the area of the airport where for a long a time humanitarian aid for civilians was parachuted,” Konashenkov said.
If the airstrike was caused by the wrong coordinates of targets than it’s a direct consequence of the stubborn unwillingness of the American side to coordinate with Russia in its actions against terrorist groups in Syria,”Konashenkov stressed. Alternatively, the Syrians - and Russians - may claim that the US coalition attack meant to cripple Syrian army forces, taking the lethal conflict to an entirely new level, one where Syria and Russia are effectively at war with the US coalition.

Meanwhile, it appears that the Assad regime, which recently also garnered the support of Chinese military forces, is preparing for a full-blown escalation: the Syrian General Command has called the bombing a “serious and blatant aggression” against Syrian forces, and said it was "conclusive evidence" that the US and its allies support IS militants.

* * *
Earlier on Saturday, Russia accused the US of being reluctant to take measures to force rebels under its control to fall in line with the terms of the Syrian ceasefire. As RT reported, numerous Russian appeals to the American side remain unanswered, which “raises doubts over the US’s ability to influence opposition groups under their control and their willingness to further ensure the implementation of the Geneva agreements,” senior Russian General Staff official, Viktor Poznikhir, said. Poznikhir also said that the truce is being used by the militants to regroup, resupply and prepare an offensive against government troops.

Last week, Moscow and Washington agreed to influence the Syrian government and the so-called moderate rebel forces respectively in order to establish a ceasefire in the country "over pizza and vodka."  We were skeptical, and for good reason: one week later it appears that not only is the ceasefire over but a whole new phase in the war may have broken out.

Russia has repeatedly alleged that the US is failing to keep its part of the bargain. The US, on its part, has blamed Russia for not pressuring Damascus enough to facilitate humanitarian access to Syria.

Both allegations may now be moot if Russia decides to retaliate against members of the US-led coalition, or directly against US force
US-led coalition aircraft strike Syrian army positions, kill 62 soldiers – military

RT,

17 September, 2016


US-led coalition jets have bombed Syrian government forces’ positions near the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor, killing 62 troops and "paving the way" for Islamic State militants, the Syrian Army General Command told the state television.

The bombing took place on al-Tharda Mountain in the region of Deir ez-Zor and caused casualties and destruction on the ground, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported on Saturday.

Sixty-two Syrian soldiers were killed and over 100 injured in the airstrike by the US-led coalition, Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, said, citing information received from the Syrian General Command.


The Russian Defense Ministry said that the aircraft which carried out the bombings had entered Syrian airspace from the territory of Iraq. 
Four strikes against Syrian positions was performed by two F-16 jet fighters and two A-10 support aircraft, it dded. 

If the airstrike was caused by the wrong coordinates of targets than it’s a direct consequence of the stubborn unwillingness of the American side to coordinate with Russia in its actions against terrorist groups in Syria,” Konashenkov stressed.

The Defense Ministry also confirmed a report by SANA that an Islamic State offensive began right after Syrian Army positions were hit from the air.

"Immediately after the airstrike by coalition planes, Islamic State militants launched their offensive. Fierce fighting with the terrorists is currently underway in the area of the airport where for a long a time humanitarian aid for civilians was parachuted,” Konashenkov said.

The Syrian General Command has called the bombing a “serious and blatant aggression” against Syrian forces, and said it was "conclusive evidence" that the US and its allies support IS militants.

According to a news release of the US Department of Defense, the coalition’s aviation performed combat missions in Deir ez-Zor on Saturday.
We are aware of the reports and checking with Centcom and CJTF (Combined Joint Task Force),” the Pentagon told RT.

The US Central Command later has issued a statement, saying that it had no intention of targeting Syrian government forces near Deir ez-Zor.

Syria is a complex situation with various military forces and militias in close proximity, but [the] coalition would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit,” the statement read.

CENTCOM promised that the strike and circumstances surrounding it will be reviewed “to see if any lesson can be learned.”

An unnamed US military official told Reuters that he was "pretty sure" that the targets hit in US-led coalition air strike on Saturday had been Syrian forces.
According to the official, the bombings in Deir ez-Zor were carried out using US intelligence, which was being gathered for days.

The US attack stopped as soon as Russia notified the American side that they had been hitting the Syrian military, he dded.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia accused the US of being reluctant to take measures to force rebels under its control to fall in line with the terms of the Syrian ceasefire.

Numerous Russian appeals to the American side remain unanswered, which “raises doubts over the US’s ability to influence opposition groups under their control and their willingness to further ensure the implementation of the Geneva agreements,” senior Russian General Staff official, Viktor Poznikhir, said.

Poznikhir also said that the truce is being used by the militants to regroup, resupply and prepare an offensive against government troops.

Last week, Moscow and Washington agreed to influence the Syrian government and the so-called moderate rebel forces respectively in order to establish a ceasefire in the country.

Since then, Russia has repeatedly complained that the US is failing to keep its part of the bargain. The US, on its part, has blamed Russia for not pressuring Damascus enough to facilitate humanitarian access to Syria.

Neither a mistaken nor a deliberate strike can be ruled out, Kamal Alam from the Royal United Service Institute, told RT when asked to comment on the incident.

There’s a possibility “that it’s a genuine mistake and the Americans in going after IS have gone after the Syrian military… because Dier ez-Zor city is under the Syrain Arab Army, but the rest of the districts are all under IS,” he said.

But it’s “a lot more dangerous” if the US had been “attacking the Syrian military to make the moderates happy,” Alam stressed, recalling recent reports of militants chasing the American Special Forces, which Washington interpreted as a signed of diminishing support from the Syrian opposition."


"NATO and the United States should change their policy because the time when they dictate their conditions to the world has passed," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Dushanbe, capital of the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan

Russian Foreign Ministry: White House 'Defending the Islamic State' Terrorists

Russia says that the situation in Syria is worsening finding that the rebels have intensified their attacks since the ceasefire came into force on September 12 and laying the blame at the feet of Washington for failing to crackdown on jihadists.


17 September, 2016

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a scathing response to the Obama administration after a US Central Command statement suggested that the US-led coalition had warned Russia prior to the airstrikes against Syrian Army positions at Deir Ez-Zor that left some 62 Assad regime soldiers dead.

The statement by the Foreign ministry comes in the wake of accusations by Russia that the United States has not been dealing in good faith in the ceasefire agreement with Russian General Vladimir Savchenko saying that "the situation is worsening" with rebel forces escalating their attacks since the agreement went into force on September 12. 

"Russia is exterting all possible effort to restrain Government troops from returning fire," Senior Army General Viktor Poznikhir said. 

The harsh response by Russia comes not only after the United States attempted to flip the blame on Moscow for the attack that killed 80 forces according to the SANA news agency, but also after reports that Daesh terrorists engaged in a major offensive right after the American airstrike crippled the Assad regime's forces. 

Speaking on Rossiya 24 Television the Rusisan Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: "If earlier we had suspicions that the Nusra Front is protected this way, now, after today's airstrikes on the Syrian army we come to a really terrifying conclusion for the entire world: the White House is defending IS [Islamic State or Daesh)."

The CNN breaks silence




The Russian briefing 

Экстренный брифинг Минобороны РФ в связи с авиаударом сил коалиции по сирийским войскам

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