PHOTO: Aid trucks set ablaze by Russian airstrike in northwest Syria

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Russia Imposes Sanctions on Turkey

UPDATE 1000 GMT: Activists and the pro-opposition Orient TV are claiming that a Russian airstrike on the town of Ariha in Idlib Province has killed at least 40 people and wounded 70. Claims are circulating that cluster bombs were used in the attack on a market.

ARIHA MARKET AIRSTRIKE

Video of casualties (Warning — Graphic Images):

Russian attacks are also reported on the city of Jisr al-Shoghour and the town of Kafr Takharim.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia and the Assad regime bombed across Syria on Saturday, with attacks from Idlib and Aleppo Provinces in the northwest to the Damascus suburbs in the south.

Russian warplanes maintained their assault on infrastructure and civilian sites, including strikes on trucks, an ambulance, and a Red Cross water well and grain storage facility. Claims of multiple casualties included 11 members of a family in Binnish in Idlib Province, with photos of other civilian victims.

The attack on the Red Cross area in Khan Sheikhoun, which killed four people, including two children:

Southwest of Damascus, the Syrian air force barrel-bombed Darayya, which has been besieged and bombarded by the regime for months.

DARAYYA ATTACKS 28-11-15

The Local Coordination Committees recorded 69 deaths, including 26 in ‎Idlib‬ Province and 17 in ‪Damascus and its suburbs.

Iranian General and 3 Fighters Killed in Aleppo Province

Another Iranian general and three fighters have been killed in Syria.

Brigadier General Abdolreza Mojiri is the eighth Iranian commander killed since October 7. The three fighters were identified as Salman Barjasteh, Marda Abdollahi, and Omar Mollazehi were the three Sunni fighters from Iran’ Southeastern province of Zahedan who were killed in Aleppo, Northern Syria.

Also, Brigadier General Abdolreza Mojiri, the commander of Imam Hossein battalion 123 of Isfahan province was also martyred, while playing a military consulting role in Syria.

Civilian Pilot: Turkey Warned Russian Warplane Before Downing It

A civilian pilot who was airborne when Turkish F-16s downed a Russian warplane has supported Ankara’s claims of repeated warnings before firing on the Su-24 strike aircraft.

The pilot, who was flying a Middle East Airlines (MEA) flight from Lebanon’s capital Beirut to a Gulf country on Tuesday morning provided his recording of the warnings and confirmed the authenticity of the audio from Turkish officials.

The pilot said:

I heard similar warnings two or three times a week, on every flight I took for the past month.

What was different this time is that the Turkish officer was shouting and seemed tense, while the warnings were much calmer in previous times… this is why I knew something was going to happen.

Assad Hosts Top Iranian Official: “We Fight Terrorism In All Its Forms”

President Assad received the top aide of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Akbar Velayati, on Sunday in Damascus.

Assad declared that the regime and its allies are dedicated to “fighting terrorism in all its forms”, according to Syrian State media.

Implicitly referring to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, Assad said the “resolve to fight terrorism will continue despite the recent escalation by some hostile countries who, while claiming to be fighting terrorism, have beefed up funds and armaments to the terrorist gangs”.

Velayati “expressed Iran’s appreciation of the ‘exceptional’ steadfastness of the Syrian people and leadership in the face of the ‘fierce’ war waged against them”, Syrian State news agency SANA wrote.

Video: Rebel Fighters Burn Flag of Dissident Faction in Northern Aleppo Province

Rebel fighters celebrate the capture of a village in northern Aleppo Province from the dissident faction Jaish al-Thuwar by burning the group’s flag:

Rebel groups and Jaish al-Thuwar, which is allied with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, have been fighting near the mainly-Kurdish town of Afrin and the opposition-held areas of Atmeh and Azaz.

See Syria Feature: Kurds Clash With Rebels in North

Turkey: Body of Downed Pilot to Be Handed Over to Russia

The body of a Russian pilot — killed when his warplane was shot down by Turkish jets last Tuesday — is in Turkey and will be handed over to Russia, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday.

Davutoglu did not say how the body was delivered to Hatay in southern Turkey after the Russian Su-24 strike aircraft fell in northwest Syria near the border.

The pilot and navigator ejected and parachuted to the ground, but video later showed the pilot’s body surrounded by Turkmen fighters. The navigator was rescued by an Iranian-Syrian operation.

Turkey’s Erdoğan Expresses Sorrow Over Downing of Russian Warplane

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed sorrow on Saturday over last week’s downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey’s jets.

“We feel really saddened about this incident. We would not like such a thing to happen, we would not want it but unfortunately it did. I wish such a thing will not happen again,” Erdoğan said on Saturday.

The President repeated his call to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a face-to-face meeting in Paris on the sidelines of the Global Climate Summit:

What we tell Russia is ‘Let’s talk about this issue within its boundaries and let’s settle it. Let’s not make others happy by hurting our relationship.

Putin has refused any contact with Erdoğan until Turkey apologizes for the incident. Ankara’s officials have refused to do so, saying the Russian Su-24 was in Turkish airspace after being warned 10 times in five minutes.

On Saturday, the Russian President issued decrees banning the import of some Turkish goods and suspending the employment of Turkish nationals from January 1.

See Syria Feature: Russia Imposes Sanctions on Turkey

“We particularly want all parties to approach to the matter in a much more positive way,” Erdoğan said yesterday. “Let’s not forget that Turkey is important to Russia as Russia is important to Turkey. Neither countries have the luxury of ignoring the other. We are willing and hopeful for this.”