Vladimir Putin has conscripted 150,000 new troops into the Russian army as the country unleashed a new wave of airstrikes in Syria - while and Iran and Islamist group Hezbollah prepare for a major ground offensive. Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria over the last ten days, backed by the country's Lebanese allies, Hezbollah, and rebel fighters from Iraq and Afghanistan, two Lebanese sources claimed today.
One of the sources said the Iranian ground forces were 'soldiers and officers', not advisers, adding: 'We mean hundreds with equipment and weapons. They will be followed by more.'
They are being supported by Russia's warplanes who bombed camps of rebel fighters trained by the CIA, one of the group's commanders claimed.
The White House said Russia's airstrikes in Syria were 'indiscriminate' and claimed its actions risk prolonging the conflict 'indefinitely'.
The comments were made after the first in a series of discussions between US and Russian leaders aimed at 'de-conflicting' operations in the country.
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the decree to conscript hundreds of thousands of new troops was not related to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Dmitry Peskov, who said Russia is targeting ISIS and other extremist groups, told Sputnik News: 'This is a regular document which the president signs twice a year.'
It came as Moscow claimed to have attacked 12 ISIS targets including a command centre in Hama and ammunition depots in Idlib on the second day of the aerial campaign.
The area targeted is largely made up of rebel insurgents which, unlike Islamic State, are supported by United States allies such as the Arab states and Turkey.
A Syrian security source said bombs were dropped on a coalition of Islamist rebels including Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, the so-called Army of Conquest which fiercely opposes ISIS.
The head of another rebel group, Liwa Suqour al-Jabal, which is part of the Free Syrian Army, said 20 missiles struck their Idlib base in two separate raids
His fighters were trained by the CIA in Qatar and Saudi Arabia as part of a programme Washington said was aimed at supporting groups that oppose ISIS and President Assad.
But Syria's ambassador to Moscow, Riyad Hadded, claimed the strikes were 'carried out exclusively against the positions of ISIS'.
He added: 'The positions of Al-Qaeda are positions of ISIS. Carrying out strikes against these positions is natural and logical, they are dictated by the fact that these strikes are aimed also against other terrorist groups that support ISIS.'
Meanwhile Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has challenged the United States to prove that Russia's operation was not targeting 'terrorists'.
Today, Russia admitted the list of bombing targets were drawn up by the Syrian Defence Ministry, while it also used its own military satellites to obtain 'intelligence' to pinpoint targets .
Moscow acknowledged it had moved marines to the war-torn country as the West fears more land forces are on the way.
Putin denied allegations that his pilots left a trail of death among civilians, claiming this was 'information warfare' by the West.
French President Francois Hollande said today that air strikes in Syria should only target ISIS, not other groups.
However, the Army of Conquest, which controls Idlib province, said on Twitter that 'Russian pigs' had flattened a mosque in Jisr al-Shughur.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also joined the condemnation of Russian attacks by reporting US-backed rebel group Tajamu Alezzah was hit today and on Wednesday.
The conflict could escalate even more with the arrival of hundreds of Iranian troops, who have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad's government.
They are backed by Assad's Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah and by Shi'ite fighters from Iraq and Afghanistan, while the Russians would provide air support.
Hollande will discuss the crisis with Putin on the sidelines of the Normandy Quartet meeting tomorrow, a source in the Palace of Elysee told Sputnik News.
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