"Iranians to join Russian air effort with ground troops"

"Iranians to join Russian air effort with ground troops"

"The (Russian) air strikes will in the near future be accompanied by ground advance by the Syrian army and its allies," an unnamed source said.

According this, the goal of the operation will be to recapture territory that is now outside the central government's control.

Iran has so far only advised the troops of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Hezbollah has been fighting on the side of Damascus almost since the beginning of the war.

Reuters also reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, "a leading foe of President Bashar al-Assad," has "demanded his ally Russia end its raids on Syria, saying the strikes had caused civilian casualties while failing to target the hardline Islamic State militants Moscow says it opposes."

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin rejected the claims that civilians were killed in strikes as "an information attack."

"We are ready for such information attacks. The first reports of civilian casualties came even before our jets took off," Putin said in a live broadcast.

Meanwhile, the Russian Aerospace Forces continued to strike targets in Syria, with the Ministry of Defense announcing that Su-24M and Su-25 bombers are being used.

20 airstrikes were carried out on Thursday, resulting in the destruction of an Islamic State command center and an ammunition factory, the Russian MoD said.

Also on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was attacking Islamic State - "and a list of other rebel groups." According to him, the targets are being selected in coordination with the Syrian Armed Forces.