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epa05029936 A handout frame grab from video footage published on the official website of the Russian Defence Ministry 17 November 2015 shows Russian TTu-95MS turboprop-powered strategic bomber releasing a missile against Islamic State targets in Syria. Russian Tu-160, Tu-95MS, Tu-22 M3 long-range aviation warplanes based in Russian territory carried out airstrikes against what Russia says were Islamic State targets in Syria. EPA/RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE / HANDOUT BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES ORG XMIT: FET09(Photo: RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE / HANDOUT, EPA)
WASHINGTON —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Russia<span style="color: Red;">*</span>launched extensive attacks on Islamic State targets in Syria on Tuesday, a potential change in military strategy that raises<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the prospect of closer coordination<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with the U.S.-led coalition that is attacking the militant group.
Moscow targeted Raqqa,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Islamic State’s headquarters in Syria,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with more than a dozen airstrikes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>after Russian investigators concluded a homemade bomb brought down a Russian airliner in Egypt last month, killing all 224 aboard.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to hunt down those responsible.
The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the bombing of the jet, which<span style="color: Red;">*</span>crashed after taking off<span style="color: Red;">*</span>from the Sharm el-Sheik airport in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 31.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The latest Russian strikes were the most extensive attacks by Moscow<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Raqqa.
On Wednesday President Obama raised the prospect of cooperation with Russia if the latest strikes signal a shift in strategy.
"It may be that now, having seen ISIL take down one of their airliners in a horrific accident, that that reorientation continues," he said using an acronym for the Islamic State. "We’ll be in discussions with Moscow and Mr. Putin to see if that will continue."
Russia's targeting of the Islamic State pleased the United States government, which had complained that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>most Russian strikes had targeted<span style="color: Red;">*</span>moderate rebels, including some backed by the U.S., and that the real purpose of Russia's recent air campaign in Syria is not to defeat the Islamic State but to prop up<span style="color: Red;">*</span>President Bashar Assad in his long civil war.
“At least in recent days there has been more of a focus on ISIL and we welcome that,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said, using an acronym for the Islamic State.
Russia says<span style="color: Red;">*</span>it has targeted<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Islamic State and other terror groups since it first started launching airstrikes in Syria<span style="color: Red;">*</span>six weeks ago.
Russia provided the U.S. military with advance warning before launching the latest attacks, said Army Col. Steve Warren, a military spokesman in Iraq.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The warning is part of agreements<span style="color: Red;">*</span>between the two nations<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to avoid pilot mishaps.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The United States and Russia are not cooperating on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>targeting.
Until now, U.S. and Russian planes had<span style="color: Red;">*</span>largely<span style="color: Red;">*</span>operated in separate parts of the country, although<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Cook said communication is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>adequate to prevent<span style="color: Red;">*</span>close calls<span style="color: Red;">*</span>even if both countries are operating<span style="color: Red;">*</span>over<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Raqqa.
On Monday, French President Francois Hollande called on Russia and the United States to join France in combating the Islamic State in Syria. His appeal came three<span style="color: Red;">*</span>days after the deadly Paris terror attacks, which the militant group said it planned.
Putin appeared to respond<span style="color: Red;">*</span>by ordering<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, currently in the Mediterranean, to start cooperating with the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>French military on operations in Syria, according to the Associated Press.
The French stepped up attacks on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Raqqa after Friday’s massacre, which<span style="color: Red;">*</span>killed at least 129 people and injured more than 300.
Olga Oliker, director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the new Russian<span style="color: Red;">*</span>airstrikes against the Islamic State could lead to closer<span style="color: Red;">*</span>cooperation between Washington and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Moscow.
The United States has been reluctant to cooperate with Russia in part because of its support for Assad, a close Putin ally. President Obama has called for Assad to step aside as part of a plan to bring peace to Syria after more than four years of war.
But Oliker said Putin may be willing to back off its support for Assad if given some say over who would replace him.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“There is some room for negotiation<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on that,” she said.
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