Australia Suspends Syria Airstrikes

Australia said on Tuesday it was suspending airstrikes into Syria following the US downing of a Syrian military jet on Sunday and Russia’s subsequent threat against US-led coalition aircraft.“As a precautionary measure, Australian Defense Force strike operations into Syria have temporarily ceased,” Australia’s Department of Defense said in a statement, Reuters reported.Russia said on Monday it would treat US-led coalition aircraft flying west of the River Euphrates in Syria as potential targets and track them with missile systems and military aircraft, but stopped short of saying it would shoot them down.Russia made clear it was changing its military posture in response to the US downing of a Syrian military jet on Sunday, something Damascus said was the first such incident since the start of the country’s conflict in 2011.