2015 Russian air raids in Syria

Russian air raids in Syria began on September 30, 2015, following the Federation Council approval to use troops in Syria in order to fight millitant groups, notably the Islamic State, at the request of President of Syria Bashar al-Assad.
Airstrikes
Prior to September 2015, Russia had armed and trained the Syrian Armed Forces in the use of Russian-supplied weaponry.
Reportedly, the first Russian airstrikes came on September 30, 2015, against targets in Rastan, Talbiseh, and Zafaraniya, in the vicinity of the city of Homs. Some of the airstrikes on September 30, 2015 targeted the Free Syrian Army.
According to a Twitter feed identifying as the , Russia on October 1 launched a fresh wave of strikes. The strikes reportedly targeted positions in the north-west held by the Army of Conquest Islamist alliance. The Russian Ministry of Defense also claimed that Su-24M and Su-25 aircraft performed 8 sorties eliminating ISIS terrorist staff and ammunition depot near Idlib & 3-level HQ centre at Hamah.

The Homs area is crucial to President Bashar al-Assad’s control of western Syria. Insurgent control of the area would separate the coastal cities of Latakia (where Russian aircraft are based) and Tartus from the Russian naval facility in Tartus.
Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar quoted sources from Raqqa which reported a "state of confusion" in the ranks of ISIL, as fighters were leaving their headquarters and were heading to civilian areas. Some of the militants reportedly began evacuating their families to the Iraqi city of Mosul fearing further Russian air raids. Patrols on the streets of Raqqa were also being reduced.
Response
The strikes were criticized on the basis that the strikes were not directed at ISIL-controlled targets and that they targeted the Free Syrian Army, though ISIL targets have since been attacked (on 1 October 2015). Some commentators indicate that the strikes were directed at "CIA-backed" anti-Assad rebels. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter characterized the strikes as tantamount to “pouring gasoline on the fire.” The Army of Conquest includes an Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, which had been declared a terrorist organisation by the United States, and another Salafi-jihadi coalition known as Ahrar ash-Sham.

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