Russia says it has launched rocket
strikes on Islamic State group targets in Syria from warships in the
Caspian Sea - about 1,500km (930 miles) away.
Defence Minister
Sergei Shoigu said four warships fired 26 sea-based cruise missiles at
11 targets, destroying them and causing no civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, Syrian ground troops have launched an offensive under Russian air cover, Syrian officials say.
Russia denies claims that its week of strikes have mainly hit non-IS targets.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported "the most intense fighting
in months" in Hama and Idlib provinces. The clashes followed a wave of
Russian air strikes in the same areas, it said.
It appears to be the first co-ordinated offensive since the air
campaign by Russia - a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -
began on 30 September.
Russia says it is targeting "all
terrorists", but at least some of its air strikes have reportedly hit
civilians and Western-backed rebels.
In a separate development,
Russia's foreign ministry has said Moscow is willing to establish
contact with a Western-backed rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, to
discuss fighting IS "and other terrorist groups", and "preparing the
ground for a political settlement in Syria".
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said that coalition forces fighting IS in Syria would not co-operate with Russia.
"We
believe Russia has the wrong strategy," he said. "They continue to hit
targets that are not IS. We believe this is a fundamental mistake."
Pentagon
officials later revealed they had had to carry out at least one "safe
separation" manoeuvre to avoid a US jet coming too close to a Russian
aircraft over Syria. They said this happened after 1 October, without
giving a specific date.
New twist: By BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus
Russia's
decision to attack what it claims to be IS targets in Syria with cruise
missiles fired from warships in the Caspian Sea represents a new twist
to Moscow's growing involvement in the crisis.
It is not clear
yet why these particular weapons were chosen in preference to air
strikes - but the missiles would have had to fly a considerable distance
over Iran and then Iraq to reach Syria.
Sea-launched cruise
missiles have long been a weapon of choice in US interventions overseas,
so there may be an element of Russia demonstrating that it has the full
military panoply of any other "superpower".
But it adds yet a
further complication to the air campaign in the skies over Syria. Of
more significance may be early signs of Syrian government
counter-offensives - aided by their allies - which could be linked to
the Russian air campaign.
More from Jonathan Marcus: High-stakes gamble - Russia's two Turkish incursions highlight the risk of a potential clash What can Russia's military achieve? Why should Russia do any better than the US-led coalition?
Turkish warning
During
a televised meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Shoigu
said the cruise missiles had destroyed all targets - including
command-and-control centres and ammunition depots - and that there had
been no damage to civilian installations.
The Kalibr-Nk
terrain-following missiles were fired overnight from the south-western
Caspian, and approached their targets at the altitude of up to 50m
(160ft) over an "uninhabited area", the defence ministry said.
The Russian defence ministry's Twitter feed
showed footage of cruise missiles being launched, saying they
"successfully hit all assigned #ISIS [IS] targets with high accuracy".
A
media outlet linked to IS published images of what it said were the
remains of a Scud missile bearing Russian writing that hit the outskirts
of the city of Tabqa - about 55km west of the IS-held northern city of
Raqqa on Wednesday morning.
During the meeting with President Putin, Mr Shoigu said 112 targets had been hit since the Russian bombing began.
Image copyrightYoutube/Russian Defence Ministry
Russia's Caspian fleet
The Caspian Flotilla - together with
the Black Sea Fleet - is a maritime part of Russia's Southern Military
District, stationed in the port city of Astrakhan. According to the Russian defence ministry, the flotilla consists of several brigades and divisions of surface ships and coastal troop units
The Caspian Sea is the largest completely enclosed body of salt water in the world. But there is disagreement among surrounding states
over whether it is a sea or a lake, which would have legal consequences
for territorial waters and the exploitation of natural resources
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