U.S. airstrikes in Syria

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said third parties including Iraq were conveying information to Damascus about the U.S.-led campaign of air strikes against the Islamic State militant group in Syria.

In an interview with the BBC broadcast on Tuesday, Assad said there was no direct cooperation with the United States, whose air force has been bombing Islamic State in Syria since September as part of a strategy aimed at rolling back the group.

Islamic State has seized wide areas of Syria and Iraq, declaring them part of a cross-border "caliphate". But the United States has said Assad cannot be a partner in the campaign against the group, describing him as part of the problem.

The Syrian government is waging its own, separate campaign against Islamic State, including air strikes in areas that have also been struck by the U.S.-led alliance. It has been widely assumed the Syrian and U.S. armies have conveyed information about the movements of jets using the same air space. (REUTERS)


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