Syrian army on the brink of advance into ISIS stronghold of Raqqa province

SYRIAN government forces are poised to advance into the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa province and allied Russian jets have kept up air strikes on "rebel"-held towns north of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports.

An advance into Raqqa would re-establish a Syrian government foothold in the province for the first time since 2014 and may be aimed at pre-empting any move by Saudi Arabia to send ground forces to fight Islamic State militants in Syria.

Russia is pressing ahead with its four-month-old air campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad ahead of “a cessation of hostilities” agreed by major powers on Friday.

• The agreement is due to come into effect in a week.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused Russia of hitting legitimate opposition groups and civilians with its bombing campaign in Syria and says Moscow must change its targets to respect the upcoming ceasefire deal.

“To date, the vast majority of Russia’s attacks have been against legitimate opposition groups. To adhere to the agreement it made, Russia’s targeting must change,” Kerry told a security conference in Munich on Saturday....AAP...http://www.news.com.au/world/syrian-army-on-the-brink-of-advance-into-isis-stronghold-of-raqqa-province/news-story/4d7135aa682b08ce32e0b2dd73aa2b18
13-14/2/16
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Related:

• The Syrian army intends to advance into Islamic State-held Raqqa province having captured positions at the provincial border of the jihadists' stronghold, a Syrian military source said on Saturday...

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