Syrian troops gain as Putin defends strikes

Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes advanced against insurgents in the center of the country as President Vladimir Putin defended Moscow's intervention in the conflict, saying it would aid efforts to reach a political settlement.
Putin said Moscow's objective was to stabilize the Syrian government and create conditions for a political compromise.
"When a division of international terrorists stands near the capital, then there is probably little desire for the Syrian government to negotiate, most likely feeling itself under siege in its own capital," he said in an interview with Russian state television broadcast today.
Critics of Russia's intervention have argued that strengthening the government will only make compromise more difficult, and today the main Western-backed opposition group said the strikes would undermine any efforts to reach a settlement.

The Syrian National Coalition also said it would boycott talks suggested by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, saying any political process must be based on "ending the Russian aggression" and reviving a roadmap adopted in 2012.
The fighting today was on multiple fronts in the northern part of the central Hama province and the nearby rebel-held Idlib province.

A Syrian military official said troops seized the northern Hama village of Tak Sukayk. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
It was the second village in the area captured by the government since it launched a wide-ranging ground offensive made possible by Russian airstrikes that began September 30.

In an audio recording, a Saudi militant cleric based in Syria urged fighters to unite, mobilise and attack Syrian forces in different provinces in order to avert "consecutive collapses."
Abdullah al-Muhaysini, who is linked to al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front, said the Russians aim to distract the insurgents on different fronts ahead of a surprise attack.
Shaam News Network, a group of anti-government activists, said several insurgent groups, including the al-Qaeda- affiliated Nusra Front, have formed a joint operations room for activities in Hama and Idlib.
The rebels seized almost all of Idlib earlier this year and hold territory in northern Hama and rural Latakia, a coastal province that is a major stronghold for President Bashar Assad and the Alawite religious minority to which he belongs.

Human Rights Watch meanwhile said that an advanced type of Russian cluster munition was used in an airstrike southwest of Aleppo on October 4, as part of what photographs and videos suggest is renewed use of the air-dropped and ground-fired munitions.