In the world 19:05 18/12/2014

Reuters: U.S. allies increasingly absent from Syria strikes

As U.S. fighter jets pound Islamic State targets in Syria, Washington's coalition allies appear increasingly absent from the air war, Reuters reports.

Although President Barack Obama's administration announced the Syrian air strikes three months ago as a joint campaign by Washington and its Arab allies, nearly 97 percent of the strikes in December have been carried out by the United States alone, according to U.S. military data provided to Reuters.

The data shows that U.S. allies have carried out just two air strikes in Syria in the first half of December, compared with 62 by the United States.

That accentuates a shift that began shortly after the start of the campaign in late September, when U.S. allies carried out 38 percent of the strikes. The percentage quickly dropped to around 8 percent in October and 9 percent in November, according to Reuters calculations based on the data.

U.S. officials are keen to prevent the coalition from fraying over concerns about the air campaign's direction. Some allies have long worried the air strikes might unintentionally bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by striking a common enemy, sources said. Others in the region are also saying privately that the U.S.-led campaign against Sunni extremists needs to do more to help Sunni Muslims.

However, officials in the United States and the region insist that political tensions simmering within the coalition had nothing to do with dwindling coalition strikes.

"It's a question of targets. From a military perspective, the cooperation is extensive and deep," said a source familiar with Gulf strategy in the coalition.

Two factors are at play: a decline in the overall pace of strikes and fewer easier-to-hit fixed Islamic State targets after nearly three months of bombings, U.S. officials and Gulf sources say.

Such fixed targets were initially bombed by Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates while the United States has from the start focused on more difficult ones, using precision-guided munitions to avoid civilian casualties.

"There are simply less (fixed) targets," said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "From our point of view, that's a good thing. It means that the strikes are having an impact."

Just under half of the 65 non-U.S. coalition air strikes in Syria tallied until 3 a.m. on Dec. 15 took place in the first nine days of the air campaign in late September, according to U.S. military data. U.S. allies carried out 20 air strikes in October and just 14 in November.

The only two strikes by Washington's allies this month targeted an electronic warfare garrison near the city of Raqqa on Dec. 7, a U.S. official said.

The drop in air strikes by coalition partners in Syria underscores the contrast with the campaign in Iraq.

Across the border, the United States has allies with highly trained and equipped air forces, including Britain, France, Canada and Australia. They see the air campaign in Iraq on far more solid legal ground, since they are there at the invitation of Baghdad.

Syria, on the other hand, is considered off-limits by many allies, particularly those in Europe, because of the Syrian government's public opposition to the U.S.-led air strikes.

"It's legal issues. It's concerns that our European partners and others have about where Syria is going," one U.S. official said. "So the reality is, even though we say the problem knows no border, by definition there's a distinction."

The United States intensified its campaign in Syria in October, carrying out 233 strikes, as the battle over the Kurdish border town of Kobani became a focal point. It carried out another 146 in November.

In total, the United States carried out 488 air strikes in Syria through Dec. 15, according to U.S. military data. 



Source Panorama.am
Share |
Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

16:09
Reporter accuses Armenian authorities of crackdown on dissent
Chairman of the Civic Consciousness NGO, founder of AntiFake.am media outlet, political prisoner Narek Samsonyan wrote an open letter-inquiry to...
15:30
Varsen Aghabekian named Palestine's state minister
Armenian Varsen Aghabekian has been appointed Palestine's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, WAFA reported....
14:54
Ameriabank named Best Bank in Armenia for 2024 by Global Finance
Ameriabank has been named the Best Bank in Armenia by Global Finance magazine in its 31st annual awards for the World’s Best Banks....
14:35
MP Tigran Abrahamyan blasts Pashinyan for threatening Artsakh leaders
Opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan has decried Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statements in which he slammed Artsakh’s...
13:59
Queen Camilla says Kate is 'thrilled by all the kind wishes and support'
Princess Kate is "thrilled by all the kind wishes and support" after sharing her cancer news, Queen Camilla has said. The...
13:35
MP Levon Kocharyan warns of false statements
Opposition Hayastan faction MP Levon Kocharyan has warned his supporters over false and misleading statements being disseminated on his...
13:08
Armenian expert warns against land handover to Azerbaijan
Political scientist Suren Petrosyan warns that the handover of four border villages in Tavush Province to Azerbaijan would pave the way for the...
12:43
Yerevan Bus head resigns
Yerevan Bus CJSC Director Hovhannes Manukyan has stepped down. "I've submitted resignation today," he said in a social...
12:23
Police raiding homes of Armenian opposition group members
The Armenian authorities are searching the homes of members and supporters of the opposition group National Democratic Pole as well as its...
11:47
Armenian leadership seeking rupture of ties with Russia, Lavrov says
The Armenian leadership is messing up relations with Moscow for no good reason, TASS quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as...
11:30
Today marks Good Friday
The week leading up to Easter or Holy Resurrection is called Holy Week (in Armenian Avak Shabat). During this period, the Armenian Apostolic...
11:15
Political prisoner Narek Samsonyan addresses open letter-inquiry to U.S. ambassador
Chairman of Civic Consciousness NGO, founder of AntiFake.am media outlet, political prisoner Narek Samsonyan wrote an open letter-inquiry to...
11:00
ARF calls for consolidation to save Armenian statehood
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) Bureau issued the following statement on Thursday: "In recent weeks, Nikol...
17:12
She said yes: Marriage proposal at Hayat Project concert in Gyumri
A young man proposed to his beloved at a Hayat Project concert in Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city. In a video posted online, the...
16:45
Opposition MP slams Pashinyan's Artsakh statements
Opposition Hayastan faction MP Ishkhan Saghatelyan has expressed support to the Artsakh government in exile following Armenian Prime Minister...
16:04
MP Aghvan Vardanyan visits arrested activists
MP Aghvan Vardanyan, who represents the opposition Hayastan faction, on Thursday visited the Armavir Penitentiary where activists Vazgen...
15:36
Armenian opposition MP visits border villages
Opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan has visited the villages of Voskepar and Baghanis in Tavush Province adjacent to the border areas demanded by...
15:04
Ex-Yerevan mayor setting up new party
Former Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan is setting up a new party in the near future, his team has confirmed to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service....
14:36
Armenia to send 29.94 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza
Armenia will deliver 29.94 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza ravaged by the conflict with Israel. The decision was approved at a cabinet...
14:07
Expert: Pashinyan decided to terrorize Artsakh leaders
Political analyst Suren Surenyants has criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statements on Artsakh leaders at a cabinet meeting on...
13:35
Analyst: The West doesn't care about Armenia
The West wants Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign a peace treaty as soon as possible and Armenia's territorial losses do not matter to it,...
13:06
Moscow concerned over anti-Russian bias of Armenia-EU-US meeting
The Armenia-EU-US meeting scheduled for April 5 is causing Moscow’s concern as Washington and Brussels are openly discussing its...
12:37
Pashinyan: Some circles displaced from Karabakh take actions threatening Armenia's security
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warns that the actions taken by “some circles” forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)...
12:04
Artsakh dissolution decree was 'the only way' to save people, president says
President Samvel Shahramanyan claims his decree ordering the dissolution of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic was the “only...
11:30
Japanese supplement products recalled after two deaths and over 100 people hospitalized
Health supplement products believed to have caused two deaths and sickened more than 100 people have been ordered to be taken off store shelves...
11:15
Today is Holy Thursday
The week leading up to Easter or Holy Resurrection is called Holy Week (in Armenian Avak Shabat). During this period, the Armenian Apostolic...
11:00
Upcoming Armenia-US-EU meeting not directed against any third party – Foreign Ministry
The high-level meeting scheduled for April 5 in Brussels is aimed at strengthening Armenia-EU-US cooperation and is not directed against...
17:00
Azerbaijan's team opts out of Sambo World Cup in Yerevan
Azerbaijan's national team will not participate in the Sambo World Cup to be held in Yerevan, Armenia, Azerbaijani Sambo Federation official...
16:45
Biden calls Putin 'butcher'
US President Joe Biden has disparaged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the second time in two months, publicly calling him a...
16:30
Armenian parliament speaker defends land handover to Azerbaijan
Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan has defended the plans to hand over border villages in Tavush Province to Azerbaijan. He...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}