Konashenkov : Russian warplanes hit 12 ISIS sites in Syria, cause panic among terrorists
Russian warplanes conducted 20 sorties against 12 ISIS sites in Idleb, Der Ezzour, Lattakia and Damascus countryside.
RT quoted Igor Konashenkov, Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman as saying: “”Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25 have launched air strikes on 12 objects of logistic infrastructure, command posts, training camps and facilities of militants belonging to terrorist groups allied with Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL].”
The Russian jets destroyed an Islamic State army munitions plant outside Damascus as well as two command centers in Deir ez-Zor, according to the ministry’s statement.
In Idleb province, a training camp for IS militants was eliminated, while several IS strongholds came under attack where ammunition depots were blown up.
Russia’s Su-34 fighters attacked an Islamic State stronghold near the Gmam settlement in Lattakia, where “militants’ fortifications were completely destroyed,” according to Konashenkov, who also reported “numerous blazes caused by the detonation of ammunition and fuel supplies.”
Russia’s targeted airstrikes have caused “panic” among the militants, Konashenkov said, also stressing that the attacks are not conducted in residential areas or places containing landmarks.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry does not rule out the possibility of Islamic State preparing provocative acts in Palmyra and other Syrian cities, such as bomb attacks on mosques, to put the blame for it on Russian aviation, Konashenkov said.
The ministry published a fresh video said to show extremists positioning their hardware near a mosque.
Russia has sent its warplanes to Syria upon a request from the Syrian state. It has been carrying out airstrikes in close cooperation with the Syrian army to ensure the attacks are maximally effective.
Basma Qaddour