Russia denies airstrikes targeting coalition-backed groups

Associated Press

MOSCOW

As Russian warplanes carried out a second wave of airstrikes Thursday in Syria, Moscow defended its military involvement against Western criticism of its intentions, saying it sees “eye-to-eye” with the U.S.-led coalition campaign on its targets in the country.

The claim of agreement with Washington came amid conflicting reports about Russia’s intentions in Syria and whether it is targeting only Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked militants.

The U.S. and its allies fear that Russia, which has backed the family of President Bashar Assad since the current leader’s father was in power, is using the air campaign as a pretext to go after anti-Assad rebels that include CIA-backed groups.

Russian jets appeared to be primarily bombing central and northwestern Syria, strategic regions that are the gateway to Assad’s strongholds in the capital of Damascus and the coast.

Warplanes hit locations of a U.S.-backed rebel group, Tajamu Alezzah, in the central province of Hama, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It added that Tajamu Alezzah also was targeted a day earlier.

Idlib province appeared to bear the brunt of the attacks, activists said. The province is controlled by a coalition of rebel groups that includes the al-Qaida-linked Jabbat al-Nusra.

In Syria’s chaotic civil war and rapidly shifting battlefield terrain, however, it can be difficult to distinguish which groups holds what territory.

Speaking Thursday at the United Nations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected suggestions that the airstrikes were meant to shore up support for Moscow’s main ally in the Middle East.