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Syria conflict: Russian Federation pounds Isis targets with cruise missiles

The strikes ordered by Vladimir Putin hit seven targets in the Syrian provinces of Raqqa, Aleppo and Idlib.

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Mr Shoigu said that the Russian air force had conducted 522 sorties and deployed more than 100 cruise missiles since Tuesday.

He said earlier that Russian warplanes were focusing their strikes on the IS’ oil production and refining facilities as well as oil trucks.

The bombs had messages on the side, one of them read “That’s for Paris” and the other “For our guys” referencing to the attacks against Paris and the Russian Airplane.

Screenshot of Russian MoD-produced video of launch of Kalibr rocket from the Caspian Sea against targets in Syria on November 20.

Russia stepped up its campaign against ISIS after determining the terror group was responsible for downing a Russian airliner in Egypt last month, killing all 224 on board.

He added that a strike with multiple cruise missiles in the province of Deir ez-Zor had killed more than 600 militants.

In a video posted online by the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday, the Russian words “За Парижа” – or “for Paris” in English – are written on what appears to be bombs on a Russian jet in Syria.

IS territory across eastern, central and northern Syria is the target of a US-led air coalition as well as Russian strikes.

The statement, which was issued late Sunday, said the flight suspension to the cities of Irbil and Sulaimaniyah is to “protect travellers” as cruise missiles and bombers cross northern Iraq from the Caspian Sea to Syria.

Russian aircraft have been delivering strikes against facilities of the Islamic State terrorist organization in Syria since September 30 at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

On Thursday, the chief of the Russian military General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, had a phone call with his French counterpart to discuss co-operation in the fight against the IS.

Putin has long backed Assad, while the United States wants to see the Syrian dictator deposed.

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The Violations Documentation Center in Syria, an activist group that keeps track of Syria’s dead, wounded and missing persons, said that the first 45 days of Russian airstrikes killed 526 civilians, including 137 children and 71 women.

Video Shows Russian Federation Firing Cruise Missiles At IS