Russia ‘kills’ 180 rebels in Syria ‘Turkey backed forces fighting Idlib jihadists’
Moscow claims to have killed key ISIS leader who Pentagon says it killed in ’16
Beirut/Moscow, Oct 7: Some 120 Islamic State of Iraq and Syria fighters and 60 foreign mercenaries were killed in a series of Russian air strikes in Syria over the past 24 hours, the defence ministry in Moscow said on Saturday.
Puzzlingly, the ministry also said that three senior ISIS commanders including Omar al-Shishani had been confirmed dead as a result of an earlier Russian strike.
Moscow reported alShishani’s death despite the fact that the Pentagon said in 2016 that the notorious fighter had been killed by American troops in Iraq.
“A command post of the terrorists and up to 80 (ISIS) fighters including nine natives of the Northern Caucasus were destroyed in the area of Mayadeen,” the ministry said, adding that another 40 ISIS fighters were killed around the town of Albu Kamal.
Mayadeen is one of the SIS group’s last bastions in Syria.
In another air strike, more than 60 foreign mercenaries from the former Soviet Union, Tunisia, and Egypt were killed in the Euphrates Valley south of Deir Ezzor.
The ministry said “large numbers of foreign mercenaries” were coming into the Syrian border town of Albu Kamal from Iraq.
It also said that Russian forces had killed senior ISIS commanders Omar alShishani, Alaa al-din alShishani and Salah al-Din al-Shishani, all natives of the Northern Caucasus.
Moscow reported their deaths after taking “several days” to confirm the results of an earlier strike on the northern outskirts of Albu Kamal which destroyed an IS command post with more than 30 fighters including the natives of the Northern Caucasus.
Shishani was known for his thick red beard. Shishani, whose nom de guerre means “Omar the Chechen,” came from the former Soviet state of Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge region, which is populated by ethnic Chechens. Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said pro-Ankara Syrian rebels were staging a new military operation in Syria’s jihadist-controlled Idlib province.
The move, which had been rumoured for weeks, comes as Turkey along with Russia prepares to set up a socalled “de-escalation” zone in Idlib in line with accords in peace talks in Astana aimed at ending the Syrian civil war.
“We are taking new steps to ensure security in Idlib. Today, a very serious operation is ongoing in Idlib and this will continue,” Mr Erdogan said in a televised speech in the western city of Afyon.
Mr Erdogan said that many Syrians had fled to Idlib from the neighbouring Aleppo province, which was rocked by heavy fighting last year, and Turkey was not going to let them down.
Idlib is largely controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group led by Al-Qaeda’s former Syria affiliate.