Putin touts ‘impressive’ results of airstrikes
U.S., Russia deny owning drone shot down in Turkey
ANKARA, TURKEY— Turkey shot down an unidentified drone that flew into its airspace Friday near the Syrian border, while Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country’s air campaign backing a Syrian government offensive has killed hundreds of militants.
A U.S. official said the downed drone was Russian, but Moscow staunchly rejected the claim.
The incident underlined the potential dangers of clashes involving Russian, Syrian and U.S.-led coalition planes in the increasingly crowded skies over Syria. Russian and U.S. military officials have been working on a set of rules to prevent any problems.
The Turkish military said it issued three warnings before shooting down the aircraft with its fighter jets. It didn’t specify how it had relayed the warnings to the operators of the drone.
The drone crashed three kilometres inside Turkish territory, said Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu.
“We have not been able to establish who the drone belongs to, but we are able to work on it because it fell inside Turkish territory,” he added.
Earlier this month, Turkey had protested two incursions by Russian warplanes, which also drew strong condemnation from Turkey’s NATO allies.
The U.S., Russia and the Syrian government all operate drones in the region.
The drone was definitely not American and the U.S. believes it was Russian, said a U.S. defence official, who was not authorized to discuss details of the incident and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Moscow strongly denied ownership of the drone.
The Lebanon-based pro-Syrian AlMayadeen TV quoted an unidentified Syrian military official as saying that no Syrian or Russian warplane or drone was shot down over Turkey.
Seeking to soothe Turkey’s anger over violation of its airspace by Russian aircraft, Moscow sent a highlevel military delegation to discuss preventing such incidents.
“They apologized a few times, said it happened by accident, and that they have taken measures so that it will not occur again,” Sinirlioglu said of Thursday’s talks in Ankara with the Russian delegation.
Russia began its air campaign Sept. 30, and Syrian troops and allied militiamen launched a ground offensive in central Syria a week later. They have so far met stiff resistance from rebels using U.S.-made TOW antitank missiles that have impeded swift breakthroughs, although they have taken a few villages from rebels in the past week.
On Friday, Syrian troops supported by Russian air power and fighters from Iran and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group pressed an assault against rebels in central Syria and launched another offensive in the northern province of Aleppo to try to recapture territory, according to activists and the government. The multiple-front offensives appear aimed at stretching rebel lines and keeping the insurgents off-balance.
A Syrian military spokesman said in a televised statement that the army launched an operation in the Damascus rebel-held neighbourhood of Jobar as well as the suburb of Harasta. He added that troops now control all hills that overlook Harasta and the nearby suburb of Douma, a stronghold of Islam Army rebel group.
The attack appears aimed at securing Syrian President Bashar Assad’s seat of power that has been shelled recently from rebel-held areas.
The fighting is particularly intense in the central province of Homs, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said about 60 people were killed in Russian airstrikes and fighting. The Local Coordination Committees, an activist network that follows the war, put the death toll at 57.
The Russian military has rejected claims of civilian casualties, saying its planes haven’t targeted populated areas.
At a meeting in Kazakhstan of leaders of former Soviet nations, Putin said his air force has achieved “impressive” results in Syria.
“Dozens of control facilities and ammunition depots, hundreds of terrorists and a large number of weapons have been destroyed,” he said.
Putin said the Russian air campaign against the Islamic State group and other radicals in Syria will continue “for the period of the Syrian troops’ offensive operations against terrorists.” He would not elaborate.
Russian jets have flown 669 sorties since Sept. 30, including 394 this week, said Col.-Gen. Andrei Kartapolov.