Russian parliament unanimously approves military force in Syria

Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, Wednesday unanimously approved the use of Russian military force in Syria, although the president's request did not specify a country or region – only "abroad." The last time the Russian parliament approved a Putin request to deploy troops abroad,as required under Russian law, Russian forces annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in early 2014. DEBKAfile: Moscow appears to be gearing up to join Iran and the Syrian army for a major offensive against the Islamic State.