DUBAI, December 2. /TASS/. Terrorist groups active in northern Syria since November 27 are operating in coordination with the United States, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at a news conference broadcast by SNN.
"These troublespots have previously been present on Syrian soil as well, due to miscalculations and the occupation of certain areas by the United States," the Iranian diplomat said. "This (terrorist incursion into northern Syria - TASS) comes amid a ceasefire in Lebanon and statements by senior US officials, who claim they feel no threats from these [terrorist] groups, indicating that these terrorists have been coordinating with the United States," he maintained.
According to Baghaei, Israel derives the most benefit from the developments in Syria. "One could say that the increased terrorist activity in the wake of a ceasefire in Lebanon is just coincidental, but if you look at the track record of these terrorist groups, you will realize that it is no coincidence," the diplomat argued.
On December 1, Oleg Ignasyuk, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria (a division of the Russian defense ministry), said that aircraft from the so-called international anti-terrorist coalition led by the United States continued to create perilous situations that, he warned, could cause air accidents and further escalate the situation in Syria’s airspace. According to him, five pairs of the coalition’s F-15 fighter jets violated Syria’s airspace in the al-Tanf region, across which international air routes run, repeatedly crossing it ten times during the previous day. In turn, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan claimed the terrorist incursion posed no threat to the US troops deployed in the country.
On the morning of November 27, the extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra (banned in Russia) launched a large-scale attack in northern Syria. According to the Syrian Armed Forces’ Command, the terrorists tried to attack villages and towns defended by the Syrian army and military installations and continued to assault the positions of government forces. The Syrian Army launched an operation to counter the raid. On November 30, the Armed Forces’ Command stated that the army was targeting the positions of terrorists who had managed to infiltrate many neighborhoods of Aleppo city and was awaiting reinforcements. According to the Defense Ministry’s statement, the Syrian army was forced to regroup its forces to protect the lives of civilians and soldiers and prepare for a counteroffensive.