Reuters, 08/10 14:23 CET
By Sylvia Westall and Tom Perry
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian
troops and allied militia backed by Russian air strikes and cruise
missiles fired from warships attacked rebel forces on Thursday as the
government extended a major offensive to recapture territory in the west
of the country.
Rebel advances in western Syria earlier this year had
threatened the coastal region vital to President Bashar
al-Assad’s
control of the area and prompted Russia’s intervention on their ally’s
side last week.
In a further show of force, the Russian defense ministry
said missiles fired from its ships in the Caspian Sea hit weapons
factories, arms dumps, command centers and training camps supporting
Islamic State forces.
Ground forces loyal to the government targeted insurgents
in the Ghab Plain area of western Syria, with heavy barrages of
surface-to-surface missiles as Russian warplanes bombed from above,
according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a
rebel fighting there.
It said rebels had shot down a helicopter in Hama province in western Syria. It was unclear if it was Syrian or Russian.
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