Russian Air Force destroys 29 ISIS camps in Syria in 24 hours

Russian warplanes in Syria have bombed 29 terrorist field camps and other facilities of the militant group Islamic State in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

“Our aviation group over the past day has destroyed two militant command centers, 29 field camps, 23 fortified facilities and several troop positions with military hardware,” ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Saturday, according to RT.

The Russian Air Force conducted 64 sorties and hit a total of 55 targets, he said.

 He added that the Russian effort has “considerably degraded” the strength of the terrorist forces in Syria.

“During the initial phase of the operation, our warplanes have destroyed the biggest and most important supply hubs of ISIL,” Konashenkov said, calling Islamic State by its former name. This resulted in the “mobility and offensive capability” of the terrorists being reduced, he said.

The general said signal intelligence reports indicate that the terrorists are suffering from a shortage of fuel and ammunition after the Russian bombings. “Some of them are demoralized and are actively leaving the battle zone, moving in eastern and northeastern directions,” he said.

Russian General Staff: ISIS might use mustard gas against Syrian army

Russian General Staff warned that ISIS might use mustard gas against the Syrian Army, explaining that intercepted communications between ISIS terrorists following Russian airstrikes on their sites mentioned an urgent transportation of special munitions to the confrontation line with the Syrian government’s forces, SANA reported.

The communications also mentioned “surprises” and talked about hand grenades that contain toxic chemicals chemical, according to the source.

The source added that gunmen talked about the need to stop the progress of the government’s forces and establish a “chemical pollution barrier” for personnel and vehicles, asserting that this information is very grave because reports dating to around a month ago indicate that terrorists have reserves of mustard gas.

The source warned that if ISIS employs chemical weapons, the anti-Syria propaganda will try to blame the Syrian Army in the same way it did in the past when terrorists employed chemical weapons in Syria.