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            Russian Warplanes Batter IS Stronghold in Northern Syria

   by VOA News

   Russian long-range bombers pounded the Islamic State extremist
   stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria on Tuesday, hours after President
   Vladimir Putin formally tied the October 31 downing of a Russian
   jetliner in Egypt to a bomb planted by the extremist group. All 224
   people on board the aircraft perished.

   Washington and Moscow, at odds over objectives in war-torn Syria, have
   been waging separate air campaigns near the Turkish border in recent
   weeks, and late last month they agreed on a flight safety protocol
   aimed at averting airborne collisions.

   In Washington on Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the
   strikes marked the first time that Moscow had shared pre-flight
   information with U.S. commanders since the deal was reached.

   Cook also confirmed Russian claims that its bombers had destroyed a
   large number of targets in Raqqa. Other U.S. officials were quoted as
   saying the Russian navy fired about 20 cruise missiles Tuesday from the
   Caspian Sea, striking targets in and near Raqqa.

   France, enraged by last week's Islamic State massacre in Paris, also
   bombed the city of 220,000 near the Turkish border. French Defense
   Minister Jean Yves Le Drian, speaking late Tuesday, said 10 fighter
   jets were still bombing Raqqa, with 36 more warplanes able to launch
   strikes in the coming days.

   "I think these airstrikes will be very harsh for Daesh," he said, using
   another name for Islamic State.

   The Kremlin said Putin and French President Francois Hollande had
   agreed to "ensure closer contact and coordination" in their airstrikes.
   It also said Putin ordered an additional 37 warplanes into action and
   directed the Russian navy in the eastern Mediterranean to work "as
   allies" with its French counterparts.

   Optimism at Pentagon

   Moscow and Washington have sharply disagreed on strategy and tactics
   for bringing peace to Syria, where at least 450,000 people, most of
   them civilians, have been killed since civil war erupted more than four
   years ago.

   Russia, which launched its first Syrian airstrikes in September, has
   been accused by Western governments and military analysts of placing a
   much higher priority on preserving the government of longtime ally
   Bashar al-Assad than on the U.S. objective of targeting extremists.

   But Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Cook said the latest Russian strikes
   appeared to be more focused on Islamic State targets than on opposition
   forces battling Assad.

   Russia's Federal Security Service on Tuesday also announced a $50
   million reward for information leading to the arrest of those
   responsible for the bombing of the airliner, which was brought down in
   the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/russian-warplanes-batter-islamic-stat
   e-stronghold-northern-syria/3062897.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/russian-warplanes-batter-islamic-state-stronghold-northern-syria/3062897.html