Russian military action in Syria a 'terrible mistake,' British PM Cameron says

British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday that Vladimir Putin's decision to take military action in Syria to support Syrian President Bashar Assad was a "terrible mistake."

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"They are backing the butcher Assad, which is a terrible mistake for them and for the world. It's going to make the region more unstable," Cameron told the BBC on the first day of his Conservative Party's annual conference in the northern city of Manchester.

Russia this week struck at targets in Syria, a dramatic escalation of foreign involvement in the civil war.

The airstrikesbegan on Wednesday, targeting mainly central and northwestern Syria, strategic regions that are the gateway to Assad's main strongholds.

"Most of the Russian airstrikes, as far as we've been able to see so far, have been in parts of Syria not controlled by ISIS(Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), but controlled by other opponents of the regime," Cameron said.

Syrian activists say Russian warplanes struck in Syria'scentral Homs province on Sunday, killing at least two children and a shepherd and wounding at least 15 people.

There are reports that at least 10 air raids were carried out on the town of Talbiseh and nearby areas.