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Russian President Vladimir Putin sits before speaking at the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters on Sept. 28, 2015 in New York City.(Photo: Spencer Platt, Getty Images)
Russia launched its first airstrike in Syria following a buildup of its forces in the embattled country, a U.S. official<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said Wednesday.
The airstrike was conducted around the city of Homs, said the official, who asked not to be identified because<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he was not authorized to discuss the matter<span style="color: Red;">*</span>publicly.
The United States was given one hour's notice before the strike took<span style="color: Red;">*</span>place, the official said. The notice was sent<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Baghdad, where the Russians have set up a coordination unit<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with Iraq’s government.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>A high-ranking Russian officer there notified a U.S. military official at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the U.S. official said.
It was not clear whether the target of the Russian airstrike was the Islamic State militant group or more moderate Syrian rebels<span style="color: Red;">*</span>combating the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the official said. The U.S. had not yet assessed the damages from the airstrike.
It was also not immediately apparent whether the attack<span style="color: Red;">*</span>signified the start of regular Russian airstrikes.
The development comes one day after the Pentagon announced it would begin talks with Russia about “de-conflicting” operations in Syria, where a U.S.-led coalition is conducting daily airstrikes on Islamic State targets.
Both the U.S.and Russia view the Islamic State as a common enemy, but Russia supports Assad's regime as the most effective force battling the militant group, while the US. wants Assad to step aside because of atrocities it says he has committed against civilians to retain power during Syria's 4-year-old civil war. The U.S. is backing Syrian rebel groups that so far have proven ineffective against the Islamic State and Assad's forces.
“The purpose of these de-confliction discussions will be to ensure that ongoing coalition air operations are not interrupted by any future Russian military activity, to ensure the safety of coalition air crews and to avoid misjudgment and miscalculation,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said Tuesday.
News<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of the Russian airstrike<span style="color: Red;">*</span>came after Russia's parliament granted<span style="color: Red;">*</span>President<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Vladimir Putin<span style="color: Red;">*</span>permission to launch airstrikes against the Islamic State<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Syria.
Speaking at a government meeting Wednesday, Putin said the only way to fight terrorists there<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is to act preemptively, Reuters reported.
He said Russia's military involvement would be temporary, and it is still possible and necessary to “unite international efforts to take on Islamist militants in Syria,” the news agency reported.
Sergey Ivanov, the Kremlin's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>chief of staff,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>told journalists that Putin was granted permission to use armed forces outside the country by<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Federation Council — the upper house of the Russian parliament,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the TASS news agency reported.
Ivanov said Russia<span style="color: Red;">*</span>will only use its air force in Syria.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Russian presidential aide Vladimir Kozhin later told reporters that Russia will supply “all the necessary<span style="color: Red;">*</span>armaments” to Syria, TASS reported.
Ivanov said the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Federation Council "unanimously supported the president’s request" to use Russian forces in Syria, according to TASS. He<span style="color: Red;">*</span>added that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Assad had asked Russia<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to provide military assistance. He<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said that the number of Russians joining the extremist group, also known as ISIL or ISIS, is growing.
"The operation’s military goal is exclusively air support of the Syrian armed forces in their fight against ISIL," he said, according to TASS.
"We are not pursing any foreign political goals or ambitions, of which we have been regularly accused. The point is just to defend Russia’s national interests."
On Tuesday, Putin said his country was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>considering whether to carry out airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria. His remarks came after a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>meeting with President Obama at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
According to the Russian constitution, Putin has to request parliamentary approval for the use of Russian troops abroad. The last time he did so was before Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014.
Prosecutors in Paris on Wednesday opened a preliminary investigation into allegations of crimes against humanity committed by the Assad regime. The probe<span style="color: Red;">*</span>focuses on atrocities allegedly committed between 2011 and 2013 and is based on photos of mutilated corpses, the Paris prosecutor’s statement said.
President François Hollande announced Sunday that France<span style="color: Red;">*</span>launched its first airstrikes against Islamic State<span style="color: Red;">*</span>positions in Syria, destroying one of the group’s training camps in a bombing raid.
USA TODAY
French warplanes "totally destroyed" Islamic State camp in Syria.
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