The US Navy reportedly deployed a fifth guided missile destroyer to the eastern Mediterranean destroyer to join four others already in the area.
Naval sources said the USS Stout and its sister ships could launch a barrage of Tomahawk cruise missiles, but may also be used to shoot down Scuds launched by the Syrian forces.
Russia said it too planned to reinforce its Mediterranean flotilla from its Northern fleet in a "routine rotation" unconnected with the growing Syrian crisis.
A senior member of the Russian General Staff was quoted saying at least two powerful vessels would be redeployed from the Arctic and the Atlantic to "adjust" Russia's naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean.
He said: "The well known situation currently developing in the eastern Mediterranean required some adjustments to the make up of the naval flotilla."
He said a "large anti submarine vessel" would be joined by the missile cruiser Moskva, currently on manoeuvres in the north Atlantic.
But the navy moved quickly to distance itself from the comments, saying in a statement to Russian media that any deployment to the area was part of a routine rotation of vessels and had nothing to do with the Syrian crisis.
Russia has maintained a naval presence in the area throughout the Syrian crisis. Its small naval base at Tartus, on the Syrian coast, is its only base in the Mediterranean.
Syrian rebel commanders also warned that a short two-day missile assault on Damascus would not deal a serious blow to the Syrian regime's military capabilities, the Telegraph has learned.
Gen Abdelaziz Shallan, the most senior defector from President Bashar al-Assad's ranks and now a leading figure in the Free Syrian Army (FSA) command, said a sustained bombing campaign should be waged over ten days, not the two or three thought to be favoured by attack planners.
Gen Shallan said he had made his concerns clear to an American general who had consulted with the opposition fighters in recent days. Opposition fears have been fuelled by Syrian moves to brace itself for an attack by dispersing and hiding weaponry.
The Syrian regime has been shifting its military hardware from established bases, while the senior regime leadership is readying to take refuge from bombardment in fortified bunkers around Damascus.
"Disciplinary action by the West in response to the use of chemical weapons cannot topple the regime but one with limited longevity cannot destroy enough military targets," he said. "The scheduled attack should last at least ten days if it is to seriously weaken the regime and its ability to attack the Syrian people. Otherwise it's like chopping the tail of a snake. "
Intelligence passed to the Syrian opposition as well as FSA information from within Syria has revealed extensive efforts to move weaponry out of harms way.
He said: "The Syrian regime is aware of the potential impact of missile strikes and they had been dispersing headquarters to new sites, command-and-control units are being moved and weapons are being camouflaged at new locations," he said. "There is a high likelihood that by the time the bombing starts the majority of the material could be targeted but the regime's assets will be widely dispersed."
Naval sources said the USS Stout and its sister ships could launch a barrage of Tomahawk cruise missiles, but may also be used to shoot down Scuds launched by the Syrian forces.
Russia said it too planned to reinforce its Mediterranean flotilla from its Northern fleet in a "routine rotation" unconnected with the growing Syrian crisis.
A senior member of the Russian General Staff was quoted saying at least two powerful vessels would be redeployed from the Arctic and the Atlantic to "adjust" Russia's naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean.
He said: "The well known situation currently developing in the eastern Mediterranean required some adjustments to the make up of the naval flotilla."
He said a "large anti submarine vessel" would be joined by the missile cruiser Moskva, currently on manoeuvres in the north Atlantic.
But the navy moved quickly to distance itself from the comments, saying in a statement to Russian media that any deployment to the area was part of a routine rotation of vessels and had nothing to do with the Syrian crisis.
Russia has maintained a naval presence in the area throughout the Syrian crisis. Its small naval base at Tartus, on the Syrian coast, is its only base in the Mediterranean.
Syrian rebel commanders also warned that a short two-day missile assault on Damascus would not deal a serious blow to the Syrian regime's military capabilities, the Telegraph has learned.
Gen Abdelaziz Shallan, the most senior defector from President Bashar al-Assad's ranks and now a leading figure in the Free Syrian Army (FSA) command, said a sustained bombing campaign should be waged over ten days, not the two or three thought to be favoured by attack planners.
Gen Shallan said he had made his concerns clear to an American general who had consulted with the opposition fighters in recent days. Opposition fears have been fuelled by Syrian moves to brace itself for an attack by dispersing and hiding weaponry.
The Syrian regime has been shifting its military hardware from established bases, while the senior regime leadership is readying to take refuge from bombardment in fortified bunkers around Damascus.
"Disciplinary action by the West in response to the use of chemical weapons cannot topple the regime but one with limited longevity cannot destroy enough military targets," he said. "The scheduled attack should last at least ten days if it is to seriously weaken the regime and its ability to attack the Syrian people. Otherwise it's like chopping the tail of a snake. "
Intelligence passed to the Syrian opposition as well as FSA information from within Syria has revealed extensive efforts to move weaponry out of harms way.
He said: "The Syrian regime is aware of the potential impact of missile strikes and they had been dispersing headquarters to new sites, command-and-control units are being moved and weapons are being camouflaged at new locations," he said. "There is a high likelihood that by the time the bombing starts the majority of the material could be targeted but the regime's assets will be widely dispersed."