US and Russia agree over Syria

Speaking a day after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a regional forum in Malaysia, Kerry said Thursday they “talked about the UN resolution and indeed I believe reached an agreement that should try to see that resolution voted shortly, which would create a process of accountability which has been missing.”

"What we are trying to do is to get beyond the mere finding of the fact that it may have been used and actually find out who used it and designated accountability for its use," he added.

Diplomats say the United Nations Security Council is likely to vote on Friday on a US proposal to ask UN chief Ban Ki-moon and the global chemical weapons watchdog to assemble a team of investigators to lay blame for toxic gas attacks in Syria.

Attributing responsibility for chemical weapons attacks would pave the way for action by the 15-member Security Council.

The body has already threatened consequences for such attacks, which could include sanctions.

Britain, France and the United States have repeatedly accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime of carrying out the chlorine attacks by using barrel bombs thrown from helicopters.

Russia - which has veto power on the UN council - is a Syrian ally and has protected Assad's government from any UN action during the four-year civil war.

While Russia and the United States have failed to agree on a way to end the Syrian conflict, they did agree on eliminating its declared chemical weapons stockpile following the chemical weapon attack on a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds of civilians on August 21, 2013.

Syria's declared stockpile of 1,300 metric tons of chemicals has been destroyed, but the OPCW is still investigating outstanding questions about possible undeclared chemical weapons.

Russia criticizes Turkey over Iraq airstrikes

The agreement comes as Russia criticized Turkey for launching airstrikes in northern Iraq, saying they contravene international law.

Commenting on attacks on positions belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev likened Turkey's actions to the attacks in Syria.

“The US-led coalition is circumventing the UN Security Council and is acting without the consent of the government in Damascus," he said Thursday in an interview with Egyptian media.

First US airstrike from Turkish base on IS Syria target

The US launched its first airstrike Wednesday from Turkey on an Islamic State target in Syria.

A US drone carried out the airstrike near the Syrian town of Raqa that the IS group sees as its capital, a Turkish official confirmed.

The drone had taken off from Turkey's southern Incirlik air base, which Ankara has now opened to the US military for armed attacks on IS targets in Syria.

The Pentagon announced this week that US armed drones had taken off from Incirlik to conduct missions over northern Syria, but this was the first time an air strike had been carried out.

IS seizes key town in central Syria

In the ongoing struggle against the Islamic State group in Syria, the terrorist organization seized a key town in the centre of the country following heavy clashes with Assad's forces, in the militants' biggest advance since capturing the historic town of Palmyra in May, Syrian activists said.

The heavily populated town of Qaryatain lies southwest of Palmyra, which is home to towering Roman ruins, and some 85 kilometers from Homs city.

Its capture allows the IS group to link up areas under its control in and around Palmyra with areas in the eastern countryside of Qalamoun in Damascus province.

mh/sms (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)