The Kalibr cruise missiles launched by the Rostov-on-Don submarine successfully hit the designated targets in Raqqa, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin.
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The official said the targets and the results of the airstrikes were not yet clear, adding that Russian Federation notified the U.S.in advance that it would be carrying out the attacks.
The Rostov-on-Don, commissioned early this year, is the second unit of the Project 636 Vashavyanka-class of diesel-electric submarines, an improvement on the Project 877 Kilo class. The submarine, built at the Admiralty Shipyard in St. Petersburg, is one of six Project 636 subs built or under construction for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Its crew consists of 52 persons and it can fulfil its duty autonomously for 45 days.
“The Calibre cruise missile once again showed its effectiveness over long distances”.
Submarine is equipped with the same missiled used by Russia’s Caspian flotilla to strike targets in Syria in mid-November, according to Reuters. Moscow says it is targeting “all terrorists”, but activists and a U.S.-led coalition – which has conducted an air campaign against IS in Syria since September 2014 – accuse Russian Federation of mainly attacking moderate opposition forces. The submarine was in a submerged position during the launch, he added.
In this photo made from the footage taken from Russian Defense Ministry official web site on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015 an aerial image of what they purport shows an airstrike on an automobile column transporting oil products in Aleppo province, Syria.
Shoigu added that Russian military jets had conducted 600 combat sorties and destroyed “300 targets of different kinds” in the past three days.
“As I understand, the flight data recorder will give us the opportunity to confirm the Su-24’s trajectory from the moment of its take-off to its crash”, Putin said.
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‘The Islamic State has seen success beyond the dreams of other terrorist groups that now appear conventional and even old-fashioned, such as Al Qaeda.
