Only 30% of Russia Strikes Target IS in Syria, Says U.S.

W460

Only 30 percent of Russian air strikes in Syria target the Islamic State group while the rest are against opposition forces not affiliated with the jihadists, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.

"The Russian air strikes in Syria, primarily, are not attacking (IS)," Brett McGurk, U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy for the international anti-IS coalition, told a news conference in Baghdad.

"If you run the numbers, it's about maybe 30 percent are actually attacking (IS) and the rest of the air strikes are attacking other opposition groups... that are not affiliated" with the jihadists, McGurk said.

Russia began carrying out strikes in Syria on September 30 in support of its longstanding ally President Bashar Assad, whose regime is locked in a civil war with fractious opposition forces.

The conflict, which began in March 2011, has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced millions of others.

Comments 8
Thumb _mowaten_ 09 December 2015, 14:53

and yet that 30% is more than the US and their 50-member coalition ever did in a year.

besides, why differentiate between the strikes on daesh and the strikes on nusra et al. ? they're all the same species of terrorists.

Missing peace 09 December 2015, 22:11

except that ISIS serve your beloved assad's interests.....

Thumb _mowaten_ 09 December 2015, 22:18

yea i heard the takfiri propaganda, and yet russia, who is on assad's side, and the SAA, are the only ones fighting isis. only goofs fall for whatever BS is thrown their way.

Missing peace 10 December 2015, 11:39

assad encouraged them to spread, educate yourself and learn a bit instead of always coming with your hezbi propaganda... multiple sources shows how assad encouraged the spread of isis for his benefit.... LOL

http://time.com/3719129/assad-isis-asset/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bashar-assad-paris-attacks_56474d97e4b0603773493ee4

http://warincontext.org/2015/11/19/assad-and-isis-need-each-other-to-survive/

i guess all these sites are takfiri, pityful moooooowaten the assad faithful brainless fanatic...

Missing ArabDemocrat.com 10 December 2015, 13:20

Mowaten - I know you are an ignorant person. The US air raids have rolled back ISIS from about 30% of their holdings in Iraq and 20% in Syria while killing a fraction of the civilians that the Russian killed in only two months. Was it not for the US, Kobani and the Kurdish enclave in Syria would have fallen and so would have much of the Iraqi North and Center of the country including Baghdad. But as usual, you and your camp are ungrateful.

Thumb Mystic 09 December 2015, 17:57

Saudi Arabia and Turkey whom fonds ISIS are saints and good godfathers right?

Missing peace 09 December 2015, 22:11

ISIS serve assad's interests miss tic....

Missing ArabDemocrat.com 10 December 2015, 13:20

Ignorant and dishonest comment.