Russia strikes de facto capital of ISIS
Syrian activists say at least 20 civilians killed in bombings
BEIRUT — The Russian military sent long-range bombers to strike a series of Islamic State targets in the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa on Thursday — a fresh round of airstrikes that Syrian activists said killed at least 20 civilians and came amid Turkish calls for greater cooperation with Moscow against the extremist group.
The offer by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to coordinate with Russia on operations against ISIS followed a meeting between the Russian and Turkish leaders earlier this week in which they agreed to mend ties.
Relations between the two nations, which back opposite sides in Syria’s civil war, soured after Turkish air force jets downed a Russian warplane on the Syrian border in November. Russia retaliated by deploying long-range air defense missile systems to its base in Syria, 30 miles south of the border with Turkey and imposing an array of economic sanctions.
Cavusoglu also said Turkey would resume airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria, months after they were suspended amid the row with Moscow. “On the issue of Daesh, we have made a call to Russia. We said we have a common enemy which we can struggle against together,” Cavusoglu said, using an Arabiclanguage acronym for ISIS.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, welcomed the Turkish initiative.
“Turkey is a very important partner, and we can only welcome what Cavusoglu has said,” Bogdanov said, according to the Tass news agency. “It’s a result of contacts on the highest level … with our Turkish partners. It’s a very important statement.”
The early morning airstrikes on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria sent waves of thick, gray smoke wafting over the city’s skyline.
A local activist group, Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, said at least 20 civilians were killed in the assault, which struck an oil refinery and cut the city’s water supply. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 24 civilians were killed, along with six others whose affiliation or identities were not immediately confirmed.
Both groups said the strikes were launched by Russian jets, though it was not clear how they made the determination. The Russian military said six of its long-range bombers had flown from their base in Russia to strike ISIS facilities near Raqqa, but did not mention civilian casualties. It said the raid destroyed a large ammunition depot, a plant producing chemical weapons and a large IS training camp.
Meanwhile, there was no letup in the embattled northern Syrian city of Aleppo, where Turkey and Russia are supporting opposing sides in the conflict and where residents and activists reported a chlorine gas attack Wednesday.
A Syrian rescue worker and opposition activists said Thursday that the Syrian government airstrike on an opposition-held district in the embattled city killed at least two people. The attack on the city’s eastern Zabadieh neighborhood saw at least four barrel bombs dropped on the area, one of which purportedly released the chlorine gas.
A Syrian military official denied the allegations, saying they were fabricated by the militants. The official, based in Damascus, spoke on the condition of anonymity.