Syria's air force ramps up strikes in west as US hits east
Syria's air force carried out strikes against rebels at more than double its usual rate on Monday, according to a monitoring group, ramping up its offensive near the capital while Washington strikes Islamic State fighters far away.
Rami Abdelrahman, who runs the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the Syrian air force had struck 40 times on Monday in areas in Idlib and Hama provinces, including dropping oil drums packed with explosives and shrapnel. Typically Damascus has carried out no more than 12-20 raids a day.
