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[h=4]Russia fires missiles from warships into Syria amid new ground offensive[/h]The missiles mark a major escalation of Russian involvement in the region and a growing crisis for U.S. policy in Syria.
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President Obama has said that Russian air strikes in Syria won't draw the U.S. into a "proxy war," but Russia's involvement still poses major implications for the U.S. military. VPC
File picture - Russian warship the BSF Saratov 150 sails through the Bosphorus off Istanbul en route to the eastern Mediterranean sea on September 26, 2015.(Photo: OZAN KOSE, AFP/Getty Images)
Russian warships launched missiles into<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Syria from the Caspian Sea on Wednesday as Russian-backed government troops launched a ground offensive to crush forces opposing the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The missiles mark<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a major escalation of Russian involvement in the region and a growing crisis for U.S. policy in Syria.
Russia says<span style="color: Red;">*</span>its attacks are targeting<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Islamic State and other extremist groups, but the U.S. says<span style="color: Red;">*</span>they<span style="color: Red;">*</span>have been mostly aimed at bolstering Assad's regime, which Washington opposes.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu<span style="color: Red;">*</span>told President Vladimir Putin in televised remarks that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>four<span style="color: Red;">*</span>warships carried out 26 missile strikes from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Caspian Sea,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>destroying 11 targets more than 900 miles away, Russia's TASS news agency<span style="color: Red;">*</span>reported. He said no<span style="color: Red;">*</span>civilian facilities were hit.
"Intensive work of different intelligence services over the last two days has made it possible to detect a large number of various (Islamic State) facilities —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>command posts, ammunition depots, military equipment depots, training camps of militants,”<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Shoigu said, according to TASS.
He said 112 Islamic State targets have been hit since Sept. 30, when<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Russian warplanes began airstrikes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Syria.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The U.S. military has challenged the Russian claims, saying<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at least 50% of the strikes have targeted moderate opposition forces fighting Assad.
Signs of a new Syrian government ground offensive in central Syria on Wednesday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>places Russia and the United States at even greater odds.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The ground offensive, backed by Russian strikes, could crush moderate opposition forces and strengthen Assad's regime.
U.S. policy has been aimed at attacking the Islamic State and searching for a political solution to remove Assad, since his regime has fueled a civil war for more than four years and allowed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>extremism to grow.
The new Russian escalation threatens to further undermine an already faltering U.S. strategy in Syria and Iraq. U.S. efforts to build a ground force in Syria, for example, have stumbled.
One group of U.S.-trained fighters was mostly<span style="color: Red;">*</span>routed by al-Qaeda linked forces, and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>another turned over equipment and ammunition to the same organization.
Meanwhile, there has been no significant diplomatic progress to replace Assad.
Defense Secretary Ashton<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Carter on Wednesday said the U.S.-led coalition, which<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is conducting its own bombing campaign,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>has not agreed to cooperate with Russia in the fight against the Islamic State<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and that no collaboration is possible as long as Moscow continues to strike other targets, AP reported.
Speaking at a news conference in Rome, Carter<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said the U.S. will conduct basic, technical talks with Russia about efforts to ensure that flights over Syria are conducted safely and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“that’s it.”<span style="color: Red;">*</span>He said the U.S.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is not prepared to cooperate with a Russian strategy that's “tragically flawed,” the AP reported.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“They continue to hit targets that are not ISIL.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>We believe that is a fundamental mistake,” he added.
Russian warplanes began bombing in Syria a week ago,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in strikes authorities said were targeting the Islamic State and al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>following a request from Assad.
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