EXCLUSIVE: Russian jets 'intercept' US predator drones over Syria, officials say

FoxNews ^ | 2015 October 07 | Lucas Tomlinson, Jennifer Griffin

[CutePuppy]

Russian fighter jets shadowed U.S. predator drones on at least three separate occasions high above Syria since the start of Russia's air campaign last week, according to two U.S. officials briefed on this latest intelligence from the region.

Meanwhile, U.S. Navy Captain Jeff Davis told reporters a U.S. aircraft flying over Syria had to be rerouted to avoid a Russian fighter jet at least once.

"We have taken action to maintain safe separation," Davis said, adding that the U.S. aircraft "changed path a little bit." He did not disclose which type of U.S. aircraft was involved.

U.S. officials tell Fox News the drone encounters took place over ISIS-controlled Syria, including its de facto headquarters in Raqqa, as well as along the Turkish-Syrian border near Korbani. Another occurred in the northwest, near the highly contested city of Aleppo.

"The first time it happened, we thought the Russians got lucky. Then it happened two more times," said one official. ..... < snip >

..... This development comes as Russia has moved some of its Mi-24 gunships and transport helicopters from an air base along the Mediterranean to another air base outside Homs, roughly 100 miles away. Russian ground forces, hundreds of Russian marines — as well as four BM-30 Smerch rocket launchers capable of firing cluster munitions, mines as well as high explosive warheads — are now in position to strike, but there is no evidence they have done so according to multiple defense officials. ..... < snip >

..... All these movements demonstrate the Russians are forming a "protective belt" around Latakia, the stronghold of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and are carrying out airstrikes against anti-Assad rebel forces, some backed by the CIA, to protect both regime and Russian interests, including a Russian naval base in Tartus established in the 70s.

[CutePuppy]

..... "The Russians carried out only one half or at best a quarter of the strikes they claim to have conducted," said a senior military official.

[CutePuppy]

Could be related: (?)

Potentially game-changing oil reserves discovered in Israel - FoxNews, by Paul Alster, 2015 October 07

Haifa, Israel – After Israel complained for years that it was surrounded by oil-rich states but didn't have a drop within its own borders, it appears there's a big-time turnaround with the announcement Wednesday that massive oil reserves have been located in the Golan Heights, close to the country's border with Syria.

Afek Oil and Gas, an Israeli subsidiary of the U.S. company Genie Energy, confirmed the find in an interview with Israel's Channel 2 TVbut conceded that until the oil is actually extracted, they won't be sure of the actual amounts and quality of the oil that has been discovered. ..... < snip >

..... According to a September 2014 Times of Israel report on the Golan exploration, Genie Energy is chaired by Howard Jonas and counts among its more notable investors the "former US Vice President Dick Cheney, Michael Steinhardt, Jacob Rothschild, and Rupert Murdoch."

Experts say actually extracting meaningful quantities of oil from the deposits is likely some time away. ..... < snip >

..... The other key consideration in the development of the potential oil feed is its close proximity to the vicious fighting taking place just over the border in neighboring Syria, where ISIS and other jihadi organizations had been battling the Syrian forces of President Assad and his Iran-backed allies Lebanon-based Hezbollah even before Russia' recent entry into the regional conflict. ..... < snip >

..... The rugged land, captured from Syria during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and still under dispute between the two countries, includes vital underground water sources that feed directly into the Sea of Galilee itself, Israel's main source of fresh water. ..... < snip >

[MichaelCorleone]

-—..., Genie Energy is chaired by Howard Jonas and counts among its more notable investors the “former US Vice President Dick Cheney, Michael Steinhardt, Jacob Rothschild, and Rupert Murdoch.”

Cheney, Steinhardt, Rothschild, and Murdoch, eh? Interesting.

I wonder who else we know is getting cut in on the fun.

[PGalt]

Thanks. Very interesting.

[dp0622]

that would still add up to a heck of a lot more than obama and his 54 allies have done against isis in a much longer time period, and without fear of collateral damage and ridiculous rules of engagement.

i know russia is certainly not there just to take out isis, but they are using naval missiles also, which is something we never even considered.

[BBell]

I’m telling you, the Russians are only following these drones so they can see what targets the drones might be flying over. It’s an old trick.

[Tallguy]

This is a prudent move on the part of the Russians. Those drones are armed and potentially flying very close to Russian troops. My guess is that the ROE would allow for the drone to be shot down if it got too close.

[donozark]

According to RT Smerch Rockets have already been employed by Russians in Syria. Very devastating.

[donozark]

Interesting way the SU-34s were “inserted” in to Syria. Flying underneath Condor Flights (AN-124) with transponders turned off to avoid detection.

[mac_truck]

Did you write those keywords all by yourself?

[CutePuppy]

Did you write those keywords all by yourself?

Definitely not all of them, only the relevant ones. You can now guess fairly well which ones are not mine. I am sure you have heard of #hastags / indexing / search algorithms / unstructured data / Lexis-Nexis?