Russian Airstrike in Syria Targeted U.S.-Backed Rebels: Report

A Russian airstrike over Syria Wednesday targeted an area held by U.S.-backed rebel forces, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

The reported targeting of the U.S.-backed group, supported by the Central Intelligence Agency, was sure to raise questions and sharply escalate tension with the U.S. Officials told the Journal that it remained unclear whether any U.S.-backed fighters were killed.

Russia announced earlier that it would carry out airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Vladimir Putin called it a pre-emptive strike against the militants, and the Russian Defense Ministry said its warplanes targeted and destroyed eight positions belonging to extremists from the IS group, also known as ISIL or ISIS. It did not give specific locations.

[sharequote align="right"]"Rumors that the targets of these strikes were not IS positions were groundless."[/sharequote]

Others weren't so sure, however, with many skeptics seeming to believe Putin's true intentions are to back longtime ally President Bashar Assad.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told lawmakers in Paris: "Curiously, they didn't hit Islamic State. I will let you draw a certain number of conclusions yourselves."

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter also said the Russians appeared to have targeted areas that did not include IS militants and complained Moscow did not use formal channels to give advance notice of its airstrikes to Washington, which is conducting its own airstrikes in Syria against the Islamic State group.

Those charges were dismissed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who spoke to journalists at the U.N. General Assembly.

"Rumors that the targets of these strikes were not IS positions were groundless," he said, contending Russia was working with Syria to "exclusively" target the Islamic State.

Earlier Wednesday, Russia sent an official demarche ordering U.S. warplanes out of Syria, according to a Fox News report. An unnamed senior defense official at the time said that the U.S. would ignore it and continue operating as normal.

The move by Russia comes after President Barack Obama met with Putin in New York City during the U.N. General Assembly. Following the meeting, Putin told reporters it was his belief that U.S. airstrikes over Syria violated international law because Syria had not requested help. Before taking military action, Kremlin chief of staff noted that Russian airstrikes would be legal because Assad had requested assistance from Moscow.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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