The coalition began strikes in Syria a year ago, and Russian Federation launched its own aerial campaign there on September 30.
Advertisement
The Russian military says it fired 18 cruise missiles on Friday, destroying seven “Islamist” targets in Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo provinces.
The Russian military has destroyed numerous oil facilities and tankers controlled by the Islamic State group in Syria, sharply cutting its income, defense minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday.
Terrorist group Daesh claimed responsibility for a suspected bomb attack on a Russian passenger plane that crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on October 31, killing all 224 people on board.
Shoigu said the strikes this week inflicted significant casualties on the IS, including more than 600 militants killed in just one strike in the province of Deir el-Zour.
He said earlier that Russian warplanes were focusing their strikes on the IS’ oil production and refining facilities as well as oil trucks.
Also in Deir Ezzor, the Observatory said fierce fighting was ongoing between regime forces and IS militants who tried to storm the military airport in the province, which is held by the regime.
An investigation by British newspaper The Financial Times last month estimated the jihadists reap a few $1.5 million a day from oil, based on the price of $45 a barrel.
But President Vladimir Putin said the current level of attacks was not enough to defeat so-called Islamic State (IS).
Paris also launched air strikes against ISIS’s Syrian stronghold in Raqqa this week, following attacks that killed 130 people in the French capital.
Advertisement
President Francois Hollande will travel to Moscow on November 26 as part of an effort to create a grand coalition to fight Islamic State, despite differences over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Asaad, whose key backers are Russian Federation and Iran.
