The forces of the US-coalition (Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR)), began military exercises in Syria, according to a statement published on the website of the US Central Command. The exercises take place in Homs Governorate near the border with Iraq.

“Our forces will demonstrate the capability to deploy rapidly, assault a target with integrated air and ground forces, and conduct a rapid exfiltration anywhere in the OIR combined joint operations,” the statementof the US command reads.

“Exercises like this bolster our defeat-ISIS capabilities and ensure we are ready to respond to any threat to our forces,” said Navy Capt. Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command. At the same time, it was noted that the OIR Central Command has notified the Russian side in order to avoid misunderstanding or escalation of tension.

The exercises take place against the backdrop of the aggravated situation in the Idlib Governorate and Russian air strikes in the region. Russia stated that the attacks were ‘exclusively aimed at confirmed targets’ of the militants who were located at a certain distance from settlements.  

Nevertheless, Ankara, Washington and the Syrian Human Rights Monitoring Center located in London accused of indiscriminately bombing civilians in Idlib.  

On Friday, September 7, Tehran hosted a summit on Syria and the situation around Idlib. During the summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani not to leave this region ‘to the mercy of the Assad regime’. He called on Moscow and Tehran not to turn the province into a ‘bloody lake’.

In response to Erdogan’s speech, Putin said that the expulsion of terrorists from Idlib is a key task at the moment. “The main task at this stage is to drive out militants from the Idlib Governorate, where their presence poses a direct threat to the security of Syrian citizens and residents of the entire region,” said the Russian president.

  USA, Syria, Russia, Turkey, Iran

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