BEIRUT: Heavy Russian aerial bombing and cruise missile strikes launched from warships in the Caspian Sea on Wednesday provided cover for a major Syrian army ground offensive in a coordinated attack on rebels.

Amid a dramatic escalation in its air war over Syria, Moscow said it was ready to establish contacts with Western-backed rebels, which the United States and its allies accuse Russia of targeting in bombing raids. But the announcement came as Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had begun synchronising its strikes with the Syrian army’s ground movements. Putin, who celebrated his 63rd birthday Wednesday, also announced for the first time that four Russian warships had struck IS targets with 26 cruise missiles.

A video map released by Russia’s defence ministry showed the missiles launched from warships in the southern Caspian Sea and flying close to 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) through Iranian and Iraqi airspace before hitting targets in Syria. A Syrian military source told AFP that government troops had begun a broad ground operation on Wednesday near the village of Latmeen in Hama province, aided by Russian air cover.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian planes had carried out at least 37 strikes on Wednesday in Hama and neighbouring Idlib province, which is controlled by the powerful Army of Conquest alliance that includes Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front. The rebel alliance has sought to expand into Hama from Idlib and seize high ground to target the neighbouring regime stronghold of Latakia province. “The Syrian army in its latest operations is working on cutting off the southern parts of Idlib province from the northern parts of Hama province,” a military source in Hama told AFP.

He added that the operations were also intended to begin securing the major highway between Aleppo and Damascus. In Moscow, Putin said Russian strikes would “be synchronised with the actions of the Syrian army on the ground” to support the regime’s offensive operations.

AFP has concluded after a careful reading of Russia’s video map that at least one cruise missile struck near the IS-held city of Al-Bab in Aleppo province, while several others appeared to head towards targets in Idlib province. Russia has said its forces have hit 112 targets since its operations in Syria — which it insists target IS and other “terrorist groups” — began on September 30.

But Syrian rebels and their backers say a range of opposition fighters, not just jihadists, have been hit.

The ground operation in Hama targets rebels from a range from groups, including moderate and Islamist opposition fighters as well as Al-Nusra.—AFP