Australia to resume airstrikes in Syria

The Australian Defence Forces (ADF) on Thursday said that it would resume airstrikes in Syria after it announced a temporary halt of all air operations in the war-torn country.

On Tuesday, the ADF said it was suspending operations after Russia warned members of the US-led coalition that any aircraft found west of the Euphrates River would be considered a "target" after an American F/A-18 Super Hornet shot down a Syrian SU-22 on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The ADF said the "suspension has been lifted", indicating that the decision to halt operations was only a temporary one.

"Following the Russian Ministry of Defence's announcement that it would cease deconfliction efforts with coalition aircraft operating in Syria, Australia implemented a temporary operational pause for air strike operations in Syria," the ADF said in a statement.

 

"This was a precautionary measure to allow the coalition to assess the operational risk and the suspension has since been lifted."

--IANS

ksk