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WORLD NEWSWednesday 9 December
Russia launches new airstrikes in Syria; 1st from submarine
The U.S. official said at strained over the downing.
least 10 cruise missiles were
launched from Russian sur- Turkey said it shot down
face ships in the Caspian
Sea and at least one missile the aircraft after it violated
was fired by a Russian sub-
marine in the eastern Medi- Turkey’s airspace for 17
terranean.
Russia has carried out its seconds despite repeated
air campaign in Syria since
Sept. 30, using warplanes warnings.
at an air base in Syria’s
coastal province of Lata- Russia has insisted the war-
kia, as well as navy ships
and long-range bombers plane had stayed in Syria’s
flying from their bases in
Russia. While Moscow said airspace, and responded
its action has been focused
on the Islamic State group, by deploying long-range
the U.S. and its allies have
criticized Moscow for also air defense missiles at its
striking moderate rebel
groups opposed to Syrian air base in Syria and intro-
President Bashar Assad.
Shoigu told Putin that Syrian ducing a slew of economic
army forces had overtaken
the area near the border sanctions against Turkey.
with Turkey where a Turk-
ish jet shot down a Russian “We had treated Turkey
warplane on Nov 24. He
showed Putin the plane’s not only as a friendly coun-
flight recorder, which he
said Syrian and Russian try, but as an ally in the
troops had recovered from
the crash site. fight against terrorism, and
Putin ordered the flight re-
corder to be studied in the we couldn’t expect such a
presence of foreign ex-
perts, adding that the data mean, treacherous stab in
will show the plane’s flight
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Novo-Oga- path. the back,” Putin said.
ryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. Shoigu reported to Putin that the Moscow’s relations with
Kalibr cruise missiles launched by the Rostov-on-Don submarine in the Mediterranean Sea suc- Ankara have been badly Russian Foreign Minis-
cessfully hit the designated targets in the Syrian city of Raqqa.
try spokeswoman Maria
(Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik, Kremlin, via AP)
Zakharova dismissed Tur-
key’s complaint about a
V. ISACHENKOV to President Vladimir Putin. stroyed in the latest wave of sailor on a Russian navy
Associated Press The submarine was in a Russian airstrikes included
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia submerged position during a munitions depot, a fac- vessel pictured on its deck
has unleashed another the launch, he added. tory manufacturing mortar
barrage of airstrikes against Putin noted that the new rounds and oil facilities be- with a portable air-defense
targets in Syria, including cruise missile can be longing to “terrorists.”
the first combat launch of equipped with both con- Shoigu said the Russian missile while the ship was
a new cruise missile from ventional and nuclear war- military had informed Is-
a Russian submarine in the heads, adding he hopes rael and the United States cruising across the Bospo-
Mediterranean Sea, the that the latter “will never about the airstrikes before
country’s defense minister be needed.” launching them. A U.S. rus. Turkey denounced the
said Tuesday. Shoigu said Tu-22 bomb- defense official, speaking
The Kalibr cruise missiles ers flying from their base in on condition of anonymity incident as a provocation
launched by the Rostov-on- Russia also took part in the because he wasn’t autho-
Don submarine successfully latest raids, performing 60 rized to discuss the matter and summoned the Russian
hit the designated targets combat sorties in the last publicly, confirmed that
in Raqqa, Defense Minis- three days. Russia notified the U.S. in ambassador to protest.
ter Sergei Shoigu reported He said the targets de- advance.
Zakharova responded
Tuesday by saying the Rus-
sian crew had the right to
protect its vessel and insist-
ed that the action didn’t
contradict the Montreux
Convention, which sets in-
ternational rules for using
the Turkish straits.q
Iraqi forces seize neighborhood on outskirts of IS-held city
QASSIM ZAHRA Iraq announced a major the former operations cen- He cautioned that there coalition in Baghdad, said
Associated Press offensive last month aimed ter had been destroyed by is still a long battle ahead, Iraqi forces had reported to
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi at taking back the provin- IS fighters, the Iraqi flag had and that Warar River, a trib- the coalition that they had
troops battling the Islamic cial capital. Iraqi troops been raised above one of utary of the Euphrates, sep- cleared the Tamim neigh-
State group on Tuesday backed by Shiite militiamen the remaining buildings. He arates the troops in Tamim borhood. “Tamim overlooks
captured a neighborhood recently seized the Pales- said Iraqi troops also liber- from the center of Ramadi. downtown Ramadi and
on the outskirts of militant- tine Bridge, a main gate- ated the southwestern Ta- “We cannot give a specif- provides an important tac-
held Ramadi and a pro- way, completing their en- mim neighborhood. ic time we will liberate the tical advantage,” Warren
vincial operations center circlement of the city. “This area is considered an city,” he said, adding that said. IS captured Ramadi
to the north of the city, of- Sabah al-Numani, a spokes- important region for Dae- IS had “destroyed many of in May, dealing the biggest
ficials said. man for an Iraqi counterter- sh,” al-Numani said, using the bridges” over the river. blow to Iraqi forces since
It was the first significant in- rorism unit fighting in Rama- the Arabic acronym for the Col. Steven Warren, the the fall of the city of Mosul
cursion into Ramadi since di, said that while much of Islamic State group. spokesman for the U.S.-led in the summer of 2014.q
