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Growing numbers of "ISIL" militants in Syria had become discontent with their command and deserted the ranks of the militant group amid the Russian anti-terror operation, Moscow's Defense Ministry said on Friday.

"The majority of armed gangs are demoralized. Discontent with field commanders is growing amid the fighters, and there are instances of disobeying orders," senior Russian General Andrey Kartapolov told a media briefing.

Cases of desertion among the militants are no longer isolated, with them now fleeing "en masse," the colonel general, who heads operations in the Russian general staff, added.

To monitor the situation in the area, drone reconnaissance had been intensified.

Since Russia launched airstrikes against "ISIL" in Syria following a request by President Bashar Assad, around 530 strikes have been conducted by its Air Force. Hundreds of terrorists and dozens of command posts, depots and other "ISIL" infrastructure had been destroyed.

According to the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces, militants were forced to retreat under Russia's strikes, as they have lost large amounts of weapons and military equipment on the contact line with the Syrian Army.

Russian strikes hit only militant targets, Kartapolov said, adding that during the past two weeks "enough video materials proving the accuracy of the airstrikes has been provided." The general stressed that all such targets are located away from residential areas.

Meanwhile, some of the strikes conducted in Syria by the US-led coalition destroy objects of civilian infrastructure, the Russian military official said, adding that it results in the growing flows of refugees fleeing from their native lands to the European Union.

On October 1,1 a Syrian thermal power plant was destroyed by the coalition strikes, Kartapolov said, adding that the location had been bombed repeatedly for several days. As a result, civilians in the city of Aleppo were left without electricity and sewerage stopped functioning, the general told defense attaches and journalists.

On Thursday, Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also spoke negatively of the military operation led by US in Syria. "The result of their activity in the fight against "IS" in this particular region is next to zero," Medvedev said in an interview for Rossiya channel, as cited by TASS.

With no exact deadlines pronounced for the Russian operation in Syria fighting "ISIL", President Vladimir Putin stressed that no Russian troops will be deployed in any ground operation, with only the Syrian Army fighting the terrorists on the ground.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website

17-10-2015 | 15:44

Russian Jets Destroy 11 ISIL Command Centers

Saturday, 17 October 2015 12:5

The Russian Aerospace Force has conducted 36 sorties over the past 24 hours, hitting 49 ISIL targets in the Syrian provinces of Hama, Idlib, Latakia, Damascus, Aleppo, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. As a result, 11 ISIL command and operation centers have been destroyed.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman, on October 16 the Russian aviation launched strikes on underground hideouts, operation centers, home-made weapon production plants, firing positions, artillery, munition warehouses, ammunition and material supplies of the Islamic State jihadist group, the Russian Sputnik News reported.

A factory for explosives, 3 firing positions, 15 field camps and terrorist bases, two military equipment bases, nine munition warehouses and eight fortified regions and defense positions have been destroyed.

"All Russian planes returned to the Hmeimim aerodrome after performing combat missions. Also, I want to emphasize that Russian drones over Syria continue to monitor the situation," Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.

The Russian Aerospace Force has destroyed a terrorist camp where foreign instructors had trained suicide bombers in the Latakia province. The facility also housed a workshop for manufacturing improvised explosive devices.

"Near Salma in the Latakia province Su-24M bomber hit a separate building, which housed a base for training terrorists. According to intelligence data, foreign instructors trained ISIL militants there to conduct diversionary war in areas liberated by the Syrian army, as well as [trained] suicide-bombers."

He added that the terrorists were also taught to be legalized among civilian population and refugees.

On the outskirts of Marj Sultan, Russian combat aircraft have hit and destroyed a command center of militants responsible for terrorist attacks in the Syria's provinces of Homs and Damascus, according to the Syrian intelligence, the Russian general said.

All reconstructed ISIL positions are quickly detected and destroyed, Konashenkov said.

"The new tactic of the militants to spread out munition warehouses and command centers of the group is not bringing effective results. All reconstructed objects of the ISIL terrorist infrastructure are efficiently identified and destroyed," Konashenkov said.

The Russian jets hit an ammunition depot in the Homs province when militants were bringing up mines and cartridges.

In the Aleppo province, Su-25 hit a terrorist base, destroying a hide-out of militants, their tanks and armored vehicles. "According to data obtained with the help of an UAV, 2 tanks and 5 infantry combat vehicles were knocked out of action."

Syrian people living in the areas captured by ISIL help the Russian Aerospace Forces by providing them with intelligence data, Konashenkov said. The command of the Russian forces then checks the information prior to making a decision whether to launch a strike on the object, he stressed.

"I would like to note that residents of the regions temporarily controlled by the militants are providing substantial assistance by telling the Syrian intelligence about the terrorists' actions. When receiving such information the Russian aviation's command re-checks it by using different types of intelligence, after that a decision is made about hitting the object."