Russian Caliber missiles destroyed command post in Syria killing 30 US, Israeli, Turkish and Qatari intelligence officers on Tuesday
US and Russia have been at war in Syria since Tuesday: Pravda confirms reports
UPDATE: Pravda has confirmed earlier reports that appeared in the Iranian Fars news service, and Sputnik, a second major Russian source, that missiles fired by the Russian Navy destroyed a command post inside Syria, killing numerous US and other foreign intelligence officers on Tuesday. www.pravdareport.com/...
As first reported here yesterday — www.dailykos.com/… -- here are the primary news reports in an emerging story that otherwise has a very tight lid. Major US and western media have blacked this out:
www.timesofisrael.com/...
Russia: Mossad, other foreign agents killed in Aleppo strike Citing ‘battlefield sources,’ state media says its warships bombed 30 officers from Israel, Qatar and Western countries By Judah Ari Gross September 22, 2016, 7:21 pm 78
Russian state media reported that Israeli Mossad agents and other foreign military officers were killed in Aleppo on Tuesday in a Russian missile strike.
According to the Arabic-language version of Russia’s Sputnik news agency, some “30 Israeli and Western officers” died when they were hit by three Kalibr cruise missiles fired by Russian warships in a “foreign officers’ coordination operations room” in western Aleppo, near Mount Simeon.In addition to the Mossad agents, the Russian report claimed, military officials from the United States, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Turkey — virtually every country hated by Iran, Syria and Russia — were killed in the strike, according to “battlefield sources.”
The foreign officers were “directing the terrorists’ attacks in Aleppo and Idlib,” the Iranian Fars news reported, referring to the rebel groups that control the Syrian cities.
The Israeli government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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en.farsnews.com/...
Wed Sep 21, 2016 12:12 30 Israeli, Foreign Intelligence Officers Killed in Russia’s Caliber Missile Attack in Aleppo
“The Russian warships fired three Caliber missiles at the foreign officers’ coordination operations room in Dar Ezza region in the Western part of Aleppo near Sam’an mountain, killing 30 Israeli and western officers,” the Arabic-language service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency quoted battlefield source in Aleppo as saying on Wednesday.
“The Russian warships fired three Caliber missiles at the foreign officers’ coordination operations room in Dar Ezza region in the Western part of Aleppo near Sam’an mountain, killing 30 Israeli and western officers,” the Arabic-language service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency quoted battlefield source in Aleppo as saying on Wednesday. arabic.sputniknews.com/... (in Arabic)
The operations room was located in the Western part of Aleppo province in the middle of sky-high Sam’an mountain and old caves. The region is deep into a chain of mountains.
Several US, Turkish, Saudi, Qatari and British officers were also killed along with the Israeli officers. The foreign officers who were killed in the Aleppo operations room were directing the terrorists’ attacks in Aleppo and Idlib.
Earlier in September, the Syrian army units launched a preemptive strike on the terrorists of the so-called Aleppo Operations Room in their gathering centers near Castello road in the Northern areas of Aleppo and Mallah farms, foiling their plots to attack the region’s supply route, a source said.
The source said that the army’s artillery units attacked the terrorists’ gathering centers near Castello and Mallah farms in Zahra Abdo Rabbah, Kafar Hamra and Hurayatyn which killed and wounded dozens of militants.
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These reports indicate that the US and Russia have initiated direct military conflict inside Syria with casualties to the other side in what has until now publicly been a proxy war.
There has thus far been no official confirmation by other major state or private news services. This reported incident follows a series of strikes that started last week with the US bombing of a Syrian military base in Eastern Syria which was followed by a Russian or Syrian airstrike on a UN aid convoy near Aleppo hours after announcements on all sides that a short-lived countrywide ceasefire was terminated.
This is not the first time that there have been foreign military casualties inside Syria. On several occasions, the Israelis have targeted command posts with missiles reportedly killing ranking Iranian officers and Hezbollah military commanders in southern Syria, including an Iranian General in January. www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30882935 In February, it was reported that opposition units had used US supplied TOW missiles to kill several Russian officers in coastal Latekia Province. www.thedailybeast.com/...
As of August 2016, there have been 20 officially confirmed Russian Armed Forces fatalities in the Syrian war. en.wikipedia.org/...
Meanwhile, the Military Times has acknowledged four non-fatal combat injuries to 300 Special Forces troops known to be inside Syria. www.militarytimes.com/... It is unknown if or how many CIA or other nonuniformed US personnel have been previously killed.
This, however, marks the first known incident where US and Russians have directly inflicted casualties on each other in Syria. This seems unlikely to be the last.
