– UK begins Syria air strikes after parliament vote
– Kerry calls for Syrian, Arab ground troops against ISIS
– Russia-Syria prepare for Idlib battle; FSA coalition launches new offensive in the south
– Syrian opposition figures accept Saudi invite to attend Riyadh conference
– Russia, Turkey trade accusations over who bought oil from ISIS
– Germany considering sending aircraft to Turkey’s Incirlik base
– Leaders urge restraint after assassination in Iraq’s Kirkuk
UK begins Syria air strikes after parliament vote
Britain joined the US-led bombing campaign over Syria on Thursday, hitting an oil field held by the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) just hours after a decisive parliamentary vote authorized air strikes. Royal Air Force planes based in Cyprus carried out the “first offensive operation over Syria and have conducted strikes,” a Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday, following a vote Wednesday evening. The strikes, carried out by four Tornado fighters, focused on six targets in the oil field in eastern Syria, 30 miles from the Syria border, the ministry said. “This strikes a very real blow at the oil and the revenue on which the Daesh [ISIS] terrorists depend,” Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said. [AFP, Reuters, 12/3/2015]
Kerry calls for Syrian, Arab ground troops against ISIS
US Secretary of State John Kerry called Thursday for Syrian and Arab ground troops to take on ISIS fighters to enable a complete defeat of the organization. “I think we know it, that without the ability to find some ground forces that are prepared to take on Daesh [ISIS], this will not be won completely from the air,” Kerry told delegates a gathering of dozens of foreign ministers in Belgrade. When asked later whether he was referring to Western or Syrian ground forces, he said, “Syrian and Arab, as we have been consistently.” He also said that ISIS can be defeated within months of a ceasefire between Syria’s government and moderate rebels. [AFP, 12/3/2015]
Russia-Syria prepare for Idlib battle; FSA coalition launches new offensive in the south
Russian and Syrian forces have been holding joint training exercises in Syria’s Latakia province for the past few days to prepare for fighting in neighboring rebel-held Idlib, a security source said Wednesday. “The exercises were being conducted in an area of Latakia with similar terrain to Idlib province, which is held by a coalition of rebels known as the Army of Conquest. In the next stage, Idlib will become the major destination and most important target of joint Russian-Syrian military operations,” the source said. The Army of Conquest took control of the province earlier this year. Meanwhile, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) Southern Front coalition has launched a new offensive to seize a base in the Daraa province near Sanamayn, one of the regime’s major lines of defense. A collection of 12 rebel factions in southern Syria announced Wednesday the beginning of a joint-operation to capture the artillery base in Jaddiyeh. [AFP, NOW, 12/3/2015]
Syrian opposition figures accept Saudi invite to attend Riyadh conference
The Syrian National Coalition has accepted an invitation from Saudi Arabia to attend talks with opposition groups at the upcoming conference in Riyadh. The meeting will bring together Syrian political and military opposition factions by the middle of December in an effort to form a unified delegation before negotiations with the Assad regime in Vienna. Coalition representative for Daraa governorate, Mohammed Qaddah said that Saudi Arabia has invited 20 Coalition members. He noted the other invitees including six figures of the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, representatives of the Army of Islam, the Southern Front, Ajnad al-Sham, al-Jabha al-Shamiya, and four sheikhs. At least 20 other national figures were also invited, including Louay Hussein, Mona Ghanem, and Jihad Makdissi. [Syrian Observer, 12/3/2015]
Russia, Turkey trade accusations over who bought oil from ISIS
Russian military officials laid out Wednesday what they say is hard evidence that Turkey is involved in an oil trade with ISIS, offering more detail on earlier claims that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has flatly denied. Russian officials presented photographs and videos that they said show links between Turkey and oil refineries in ISIS-controlled territory in Syria, estimating $3 million worth of oil per day traversing this route before Russian airstrikes cut that roughly in half. Russian military leader Sergey Rudskoy pointed to “three main routes [that] have been exposed for the transportation of oil to Turkey,” one ending in Turkish ports on the Mediterranean Sea, another at an oil refinery in Batman and a third in Cizre. Keeping up his own tough talk, the Turkish President denied the allegations during a speech at Qatar University. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the Turkish and Russian foreign ministers will meet on the sidelines of an Organization for Security and Cooperation meeting in Belgrade, Serbia–the first high-level meeting since the crisis in relations began. A ministry official said the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkey’s Mevlut Cavusoglu was scheduled for the afternoon. [CNN, AP, 12/3/2015]
Germany considering sending aircraft to Turkey’s Incirlik base
Germany’s Defense Minister is due for talks in Turkey on Thursday as Berlin considers sending aircraft to Incirlik airbase as part of operations to confront ISIS, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday. Germany has vowed to take a more active stance against the Islamist militant group after it masterminded an attack in Paris last month that killed 130 people and raised security fears across Europe. Berlin has already decided to deploy a frigate in the Mediterranean and send six scout planes and a tanker aircraft to an undisclosed location, the sources said. “Turkey’s approval and an agreement is necessary before we can deploy German planes in Incirlik base and the final decision has not been made,” one source said. [Reuters, 12/2/2015]
Leaders urge restraint after assassination in Iraq’s Kirkuk
Gunmen shot dead a prominent Sunni Arab official in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk, police and medical sources said on Tuesday, in an attack that risks inflaming tensions in the ethnically mixed area. Mohammed al-Jubouri, head of the Arab bloc in the Kirkuk provincial council, was killed in his car while traveling near his home in a central neighborhood, said police chief Brigadier Saraht Qadir. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Political leaders in Kirkuk Wednesday urged restraint and unity after the assassination. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered a thorough and independent investigation. [Reuters, AFP, 12/2/2015]