Daneshmand
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Second Russian warplane violates Turkish airspace as tensions escalate - ABC News
A Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace on Sunday, a Turkish foreign ministry official says, the second such breach over the past three days, prompting Ankara to once again summon Moscow's ambassador.
Turkey, a NATO member with the alliance's second biggest army, scrambled two F-16 jets on Saturday after a Russian aircraft crossed into its airspace over its southern province of Hatay, the Turkish foreign ministry said.
The United States and its NATO allies denounced Russia for Saturday's incursion, and Ankara threatened to respond if provoked again, raising the prospect of direct confrontation between the Cold War enemies.
NATO held an emergency meeting in Brussels of ambassadors from its 28 member states with secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg calling the incursions "unacceptable violations of Turkish airspace".
NATO members "strongly protest" and "condemn" incursions into Turkish and NATO territory, the alliance said.
"Allies also note the extreme danger of such irresponsible behaviour. They call on the Russian Federation to cease and desist, and immediately explain these violations," NATO said in a statement after the meeting.
The White House called the Russian move a "provocation", and US secretary of state John Kerry said it illustrated concerns about an escalated Syrian conflict.
"Had Turkey responded... it could have resulted in a shootdown, and it is precisely the kind of thing we warned against," Mr Kerry said during a visit to Chile.
The Russian defence ministry said on Monday that an SU-30 fighter aircraft had entered Turkish airspace along the border with Syria "for a few seconds" on Saturday.
In another incident, the Turkish military said a MiG-29 fighter — an aircraft used both by Russia and Syria — had harassed two of its F-16s on Sunday by locking its radar on to them as they patrolled the border.
Russia hits Islamic State targets
Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry said its jets had struck 10 Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria on Monday, as Moscow ramped up its aerial campaign with bombardments that for the first time targeted the Damascus area.
"Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25 carried out 15 sorties from the Hmeimim airbase in the afternoon," the ministry said in a statement, adding that 10 facilities had been struck on the sixth day of Moscow's military intervention in Syria.
The raids notably destroyed an Islamic State command centre and communications hub in a mountainous area of Damascus province, the statement said.
They also destroyed IS command centres in the northern province of Aleppo, around 20 tanks and two ammunition depots in the eastern province of Homs, as well as 30 vehicles, including armoured vehicles, in north-western Idlib province.
Russian fighter jets launched their bombing campaign in Syria on Wednesday in support of the war-torn country's president Bashar al-Assad.
Moscow insists it is only targeting IS militants but Ankara and its Western allies have accused Russia of attacking moderate Syrian rebel forces.
Earlier on Monday, the Russian defence ministry said its jets had struck nine IS sites in Syria over the past 24 hours, hitting command centres, weapon caches, artillery and communication posts in the Syrian provinces of Homs, Idlib and Latakia.
A Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace on Sunday, a Turkish foreign ministry official says, the second such breach over the past three days, prompting Ankara to once again summon Moscow's ambassador.
Turkey, a NATO member with the alliance's second biggest army, scrambled two F-16 jets on Saturday after a Russian aircraft crossed into its airspace over its southern province of Hatay, the Turkish foreign ministry said.
The United States and its NATO allies denounced Russia for Saturday's incursion, and Ankara threatened to respond if provoked again, raising the prospect of direct confrontation between the Cold War enemies.
NATO held an emergency meeting in Brussels of ambassadors from its 28 member states with secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg calling the incursions "unacceptable violations of Turkish airspace".
NATO members "strongly protest" and "condemn" incursions into Turkish and NATO territory, the alliance said.
"Allies also note the extreme danger of such irresponsible behaviour. They call on the Russian Federation to cease and desist, and immediately explain these violations," NATO said in a statement after the meeting.
The White House called the Russian move a "provocation", and US secretary of state John Kerry said it illustrated concerns about an escalated Syrian conflict.
"Had Turkey responded... it could have resulted in a shootdown, and it is precisely the kind of thing we warned against," Mr Kerry said during a visit to Chile.
The Russian defence ministry said on Monday that an SU-30 fighter aircraft had entered Turkish airspace along the border with Syria "for a few seconds" on Saturday.
In another incident, the Turkish military said a MiG-29 fighter — an aircraft used both by Russia and Syria — had harassed two of its F-16s on Sunday by locking its radar on to them as they patrolled the border.
Russia hits Islamic State targets
Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry said its jets had struck 10 Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria on Monday, as Moscow ramped up its aerial campaign with bombardments that for the first time targeted the Damascus area.
"Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25 carried out 15 sorties from the Hmeimim airbase in the afternoon," the ministry said in a statement, adding that 10 facilities had been struck on the sixth day of Moscow's military intervention in Syria.
The raids notably destroyed an Islamic State command centre and communications hub in a mountainous area of Damascus province, the statement said.
They also destroyed IS command centres in the northern province of Aleppo, around 20 tanks and two ammunition depots in the eastern province of Homs, as well as 30 vehicles, including armoured vehicles, in north-western Idlib province.
Russian fighter jets launched their bombing campaign in Syria on Wednesday in support of the war-torn country's president Bashar al-Assad.
Moscow insists it is only targeting IS militants but Ankara and its Western allies have accused Russia of attacking moderate Syrian rebel forces.
Earlier on Monday, the Russian defence ministry said its jets had struck nine IS sites in Syria over the past 24 hours, hitting command centres, weapon caches, artillery and communication posts in the Syrian provinces of Homs, Idlib and Latakia.
