Russia Launches New Airstrikes against Terrorists in Homs, Hama, Idleb

Local Editor

The Russian Air Force carried out more air strikes on 12 ISIL positions in Homs, Hama and Idleb as part of the agreement between Syria and Russia to eliminate the terrorists’ presence in Syria.

Russian strikes

The Russian air operation in Syria started on Wednesday shortly after the upper house of the Russian parliament gave President Vladimir Putin the mandate to use military force in the Arab country upon President Bashar al-Assad’s request.

Russia Today website quoted Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Maj. Igor Konashenkov as saying in a statement that “a terrorist HQ and an ammunition depot were destroyed near Idleb, as were a fortified three-level command center near Hama.”

“A direct bomb hit also completely destroyed a workshop north of Homs that produced explosives and ammunition,” he added, saying that at this workshop terrorists were stuffing vehicles with explosives, which were then used to carry out terrorist attacks.

20 air strikes targeted 8 ISIL positions in Syria on Wednesday, according to the Ministry. Those included ammunition warehouses and command and control centers.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense has described the country’s first airstrikes against the Takfiri ISIL terrorists in Syria as successful.

Eight positions of the terrorist group were targeted successfully during the raids, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Wednesday following the airstrikes.

“Ammunition depots, weapons, fuel and lubricants, accumulation of military equipment have been struck as a result of the airstrikes,” Konashenkov added.

He also said the command and control posts of Daesh in the area had been “completely destroyed,” emphasizing, however, that “the civilian infrastructure and the nearby territory was not stricken.”

In a relevant context, the Ministry announced that the Russian landing ships in the Mediterranean and Russia’s Black Sea Fleet forces will take part in the Russian air operation against terrorist organizations in Syria to protect the Russian military facilities in Tartous and Lattakia.

In the meantime, commander of a CIA-trained group told Reuters that two Russian air strikes in Syria Thursday hit a training camp operated by militant groups that received military training organized by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Hassan Haj Ali, head of the Liwa Suqour al-Jabal terrorist group, said the camp in Idleb province was struck by around 20 missiles in two separate sorties.