Russia sends 'jets to syria' as talks held

             US officials say Russia has sent at least four
fighter jets to Syria as it continues to bolster the
embattled forces of Bashar al Assad.
Moscow had already sent troops and military
hardware, including helicopter gunships, tanks and
as many 500 Russian marines, to an airfield near
the Syrian port city of Latakia, the US claims.
One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity,
told Reuters that four tactical Russian fighter jets
have now been sent to Syria.
Another US official confirmed the presence of
multiple jets, but declined to put a number on it.
Sergei Shoigu (L) and Ash Carter discussed
Syria over the phone
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US is
disturbed by the build-up.
"Clearly, the presence of aircraft with air-to-air
combat capacity ... and surface-to-air missiles
raises serious questions," Mr Kerry said after talks
in London with Foreign Minister Philip Hammond.
The build-up comes as Syrian government planes
launched a second round of airstrikes against
Islamic State positions in Palmyra, killing at least
26 people.
The ancient town was seized by the extremist
group in May, with much of its Roman-era buildings
reportedly now destroyed.
The latest Russian deployment adds significant
airpower to the build-up, which has led to the first
talks between US and Russian defence chiefs in
more than a year.
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter and his Russian
counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, discussed ways to
avoid accidental military interactions in Syria's
limited air space, where the US and its allies are
carrying airstrikes against Islamic State.
A US defence official briefed on the 50-minute
phone call told Reuters that Mr Shoigu described
Russia's military activities in the war-torn country
as "designed to honour commitments made to the
Syrian government".
The Cold War foes have a common enemy in IS,
also known as ISIL, in Syria - but the US opposes
Russia's support of Mr Assad.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Mr Carter
and Mr Shoigu agreed to further discuss the
"counter-ISIL campaign".
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor
Konashenkov said: "The course of the conversation
has shown that the sides' opinions on the majority
of issues under consideration are close or coincide.
He added the two sides agreed to continue
consultations.
The last time a US defence chief spoke with Mr
Shoigu was in August 2014. High-level
communications were halted after Russia's
annexation of Crimea and its intervention in
Ukraine.