Russia detects missile launches from French frigate off Syria’s coast in Mediterranean – MoD

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Russian airspace control systems have registered missile launches from a French frigate in the Mediterranean on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

The French Navy’s newest frigate, FS Auvergne, fired rockets around 8pm GMT Monday, the Russian military said. “Airspace control has recorded rocket launches from the French frigate Auvergne,” the ministry’s statement read. The Auvergne is deployed in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Syria.

Auvergne is a ‘European multi-purpose frigate’ (FREMM) which entered the service of the French Navy in February this year. Prior to its official commissioning, the Aquitaine class warship witnessed deployment across the globe, including the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

The launch was detected around the same time as air traffic controllers at the Khmeimim Air Base “lost contact” with a military Il-20 aircraft during an attack of Israeli F-16 fighters on Latakia. Fourteen people were on board the plane at the time of the disappearance. A search and rescue mission is underway.

The IDF has refused to comment on the report. Despite the fact that Israel rarely acknowledges striking specific targets inside Syria, earlier this month the IDF admitted to hitting at least 202 “Iranian targets” in the country. read more…

‘Chlorine delivered’: Idlib militants ‘readying false flag attack’ in Syrian village – Russian MoD

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Militants in Syria’s Idlib have transported several canisters containing chlorine to the village of Bsanqul, apparently preparing to stage a false flag chemical attack, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.
The chlorine-filled canisters were delivered by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants of Tahrir al Sham, formerly known as Al-Nusra Front, a spokesman of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, Lieutenant General Vladimir Savchenko, said in a statement Saturday. He added that the latest developments showed that the militants are preparing for a false flag attack that would be used to accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons against its people.

This is the latest warning from the Russian military on what it says is a chemical “provocation” in the making. On Wednesday, it said the White Helmets group has shot videos intended to be used in framing the Syrian government. Earlier, the MoD said toxic chemicals had been delivered Idlib and accused the White Helmets of carrying out the delivery.

The US and its allies have so far dismissed the Russian warnings, but said that the government in Damascus might instead be preparing chemical attacks against civilians.  read more…

Bolton promises ‘much stronger’ response if chemical weapons used in Syria

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US national security adviser John Bolton has warned that the US, France and UK will launch a ‘much stronger’ response to any chemical weapons attack in Syria, as the US bolsters its regional military presence in preparation.

“We’ve tried to convey the message in recent days that if there’s a third use of chemical weapons, the response will be much stronger,” Bolton told reporters on Monday.

Bolton’s statement comes as tensions around Idlib are rising. Idlib is the last redoubt of terrorist groups including Jabhat al-Nusra and some offshoots of Al Qaeda.

Bolton’s words echo his earlier warnings in August that the US would respond “very strongly” if Assad’s forces were to use chemical weapons in a bit to retake Idlib. Previously, an alleged chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma, 10km north of the capital, Damascus, was used as pretext for American, British, and French airstrikes against Syrian government targets in April, while an attack in the northern city of Khan Shaykhun in 2017 was also blamed on Assad, and triggered a US missile attack in response.

Now, Bolton claims that the US, Britain and France are in agreement that a fresh attack would call for more severe retaliation.

“I can say we’ve been in consultation with the British and the French, who joined us in the second strike, and they also agree that another use of chemical weapons will result in a much stronger response,” he said on Monday. read more…