Russia's military build-up in Syria has grown to include the shipment of a half-dozen highly sophisticated battle tanks -- and more troops -- a defense official told Fox News, in what the source called the "first clear sign of offensive weapons arriving in Syria."
The Pentagon has now tracked a total of 15 Russian Antonov-124 Condor flights into Syria, reflecting a steady stream of military cargo into Syria. According to the latest intelligence, this also includes the arrival of two more Russian cargo ships, containing the tanks.
Up to this point, the official said, the Russian cargo and weapons that have been delivered to Syria could be viewed as defensive in nature. The arrival of tanks cannot be viewed this way.
The official said that Russian offensive operations could launch from Bassel Al-Assad International Airport "very soon."
The massive Condor flights carrying all kinds of supplies now arrive twice a day through Iran and Iraq into Bassel Al-Assad International Airport outside the port city of Latakia. The cargo is for Russian soldiers, not Syrian government forces, but is seen as a build-up to aid Bashar Assad's embattled regime.
The defense official, briefed on the latest satellite photos of the Syrian coastline, said: "This is the largest deployment of Russian forces outside the former Soviet Union since the collapse of the USSR."
In addition to the influx of tanks and artillery, 35 armored personnel carriers, similar to the U.S. Army's Bradley fighting vehicles, have come ashore in Syria on top of dozens that arrived last week.
Russia is in the midst of a steady military buildup at a Syrian airport, indicating Moscow intends to create an air operations base there, although no fighter jets or helicopters have arrived yet, the Pentagon said Monday.
A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, said the U.S. is closely monitoring the buildup, but he declined to reveal specifics about the Russian military personnel and equipment being flown to the base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia.
“We have seen indications in recent days that Russia has moved people and things into the area around Latakia and the air base there that suggests that it intends to establish some sort of a forward air operating base,” Davis said.
In an interview with Russian state television aired Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it was “absurd” for the West to exclude the Syrian armed forces from the fight against the Islamic State group.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that Russia has legitimate interests and significant investments in Syria.
“That’s why we … have urged Russia to reconsider how they can constructively coordinate their efforts” with the international coalition that is combatting the Islamic State, Earnest said, suggesting that President Barack Obama may discuss the issue directly with President Vladimir Putin.
Dozens of Muslim protesters clashed with Israeli security forces at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for a third consecutive day on Tuesday.
Young protesters gathered around the mosque threw stones at police who had entered the compound in large numbers and who responded with stun grenades, AFP reported. The protesters also hurled fireworks and blocks at police, Israel’s Ynet website said.
The protesters, who had apparently gathered at the site overnight, had prepared barricades to prevent one of the doors of the mosque from being closed by police, Ynet reported. When the Mount opened on Tuesday morning, they began throwing stones at the Mughrabi Gate, which grants access to the site from the Western Wall plaza below and is the only gate that can be used by non-Muslims, and continued to do so until police arrived.
The police moved in to the site in order to ensure that visits to the Temple Mount could go ahead as planned, Israel’s Walla website reported. The police managed to close the barricaded door to the mosque, leaving the protesters inside and said that visits to the site were able to resume.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said police entered the mosque compound early Wednesday morning to disperse a group of protesters who were throwing rocks and firecrackers. She said the crowd was dispersed and no one was injured or arrested.
The round of violence began Sunday morning, with security forces seizing pipe bombs at the flashpoint site — holy to Jews and Muslims — in an operation carried out hours before Jews prepared to celebrate the new year. The Shin Bet security service alerted police to the cache, apparently an effort by Palestinians to stock up on bombs, flares and rocks ahead of an organized riot.
Police chief Bentzi Sau vowed Sunday that protesters would not be allowed to threaten security of visitors to the site, while Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan warned that access to the site could be affected by the discovery of the pipe bombs.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Tuesday evening with senior political and defense officials to discuss Israel’s response to the outbreak of violence.
Israeli actions on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem are tantamount to a “declaration of war,” a senior official from the Islamist Hamas organization said Tuesday, as Israeli police and Muslim protesters clashed at the al-Aqsa Mosque for the third consecutive day.
The mosque is situated on the Temple Mount, a flashpoint site holy to both Jews and Muslims. Jewish visitors are permitted onto the Mount, which overlooks the Western Wall, but are not allowed to pray there.
“The Israeli escalation on the Temple Mount is a declaration of war,” said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, according to Israel’s Walla website. He called on the international community to rein in Israel “before the situation explodes.”
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said police entered the mosque compound early Wednesday morning to disperse a group of protesters who were throwing rocks and firecrackers. She said the crowd was dispersed and no one was injured or arrested.
Israel’s Army Radio said Wednesday, however, that five police officers had been were lightly hurt in the clashes and two protesters were arrested.
Israel’s actions have been roundly condemned by the Muslim world, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging the United Nations to act against Israel’s “breach” of the sanctity of the al-Aqsa Mosque. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Sunday also accused the “Zionist enemy” of trying to “seize” the mosque, while Jordan’s King Abdullah warned that the clashes could had an adverse effect on his country’s relations with Israel.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged the United Nations to act against Israel’s “breach” of the sanctity of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a Turkish source said Tuesday night, according to the Turkish Hurriyet news website.
Erdogan told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a phone conversation that Israel’s actions were “unacceptable” and a cause for “serious indignation” in the Muslim world, the source said.
Muslim protesters clashed with police for a third consecutive day on Wednesday morning, after the protesters barricaded a door into the mosque and threw stones and firecrackers at the entrance to the Temple Mount for non-Muslims. Police later removed the barricade, closing the protesters inside the mosque.
Erdogan also demanded world pressure on Israel over the establishment of an Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The ongoing clashes at the site — which is holy to both Jews and Muslims — have caused widespread condemnation of Israel in the Arab world. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Sunday accusedthe “Zionist enemy” of trying to “seize” the al-Aqsa Mosque, while Jordan’s King Abdullah warned that the clashes could had an adverse effect on his country’s relations with Israel.
Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has accused the “Zionist enemy” of trying to “seize” the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, after Israeli police officers clashed with masked Muslim rock-throwers on the Temple Mount.
The officers entered the site on Sunday morning, after intelligence information gathered by security forces revealed a plan for an organized riot on the Temple Mount, with protesters stockpiling rocks and firecrackers as well as a barricade at an entrance to the mosque, police said.
Jubeir said movement will be made “at all levels to confront any act of aggression carried out by the Israeli occupation or the Israeli settlers against Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the Saudi Press Agency said.
Palestinian witnesses said police entered the golden-domed mosque, but police said they only closed the doors to the mosque to block in rioters throwing stones, fireworks and other objects. Police said that pipe bombs were also found at the entrance to the the mosque.
“A discussion was conducted on the Palestinian issue and what is happening at the al-Aqsa Mosque, and how to deal with these aggressive moves by the Zionist enemy in an attempt to seize the mosque, as well as how to intensify the efforts of the Arab and Muslim countries to condemn these Israeli actions and confront them on all tracks, in accordance with the request of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and with unanimous approval of the Arab countries,” Jubeir said in a statement Sunday, after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo.
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4 comments:
The new moon was spotted and confirmed today Tuesday the 15th.
Hmmmmm???? Now why would Russia be placing tanks at the Syrian border????
That has been also on my mind
George let's keep in mind a possible small window of dispensation.
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