Lavrov: Idlib, Homs Strikes to prevent Daesh Fighters Fleeing Mosul from Entering Syria

Local Editor

Russian bombers are striking terrorist targets in Syria's Idlib and Homs provinces so that Daesh [ISIS/ISIL] militants retreating from Iraq's Mosul do not cross into Syria, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after "constructive" talks with his US counterpart, John Kerry.

"Our aviation and the aviation of Syria work only in the provinces of Idlib and Homs in order to prevent Daesh from crossing into Syria from Mosul," Lavrov explained after meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] Economic Leaders week in Peru's Lima.

While both diplomats regarded the talks, which touched on Syria, Yemen and Ukraine, as "productive" and "constructive," Lavrov also alluded to the allegations made by US State Department that Russian jets were behind the reported bombings of 5 hospitals in Aleppo and Idlib.

The Russian Defense Ministry repeatedly said that Russian jets have not been flying sorties in Aleppo during the last 30 days, while targets in Idlib and Homs, said to be terrorist arms factories and warehouses, are carefully selected.