“We will also increase their intensity”, said Andrei Kartapolov from the Russian army General Staff.
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Moscow insisted their latest raid targeted a command post near Raqqa, which is in the hands of brutal Islamic State militants.
“Six strikes were conducted on targets of the ISIL terrorist group in 14 flights”, the defence ministry said in a statement on the third day of its military intervention.
The Russian foray into Syria is likely to be a top issue at a summit meeting in Paris on Friday of the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, meant to shore up the agreement signed in Minsk, Belarus, this year that was intended to bring peace to southeast Ukraine. The attacks also raise the risk of accidents between Russian and US jets, which are sharing airspace as they pursue separate bombing campaigns.
Members of Syria’s Civil Defense, a volunteer group operating in rebel-controlled areas, rushed to save people after the aerial attack on the village of Ehsim when a second strike hit the area.
“We express our deep concern with regard to the Russian military build-up in Syria“.
The commander of a US-trained rebel group said one of its training camps in Idlib province had been hit by two Russian sorties.
They said in a statement they are especially concerned about “attacks by the Russian Air Force on Hama, Homs and Idlib since yesterday (Thursday) which led to civilian casualties and did not target Da’esh (IS)”.
Spokesman Josh Earnest said Russian Federation was carrying out random air strikes against the Syrian opposition.
On Friday, Alexei Pushkov, an ally of President Vladimir Putin told French radio station Europe 1 that he estimated that Russia’s air operations would last three to four months.
IS has taken advantage of the chaos to seize territory across Syria and Iraq, which it rules under its own brutal interpretation of Islamic law, and has recruited thousands of foreign jihadists to its cause.
President Obama commented Friday that Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria is driving moderate opposition underground and “only strengthening” the terror group Islamic State (IS).
The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted sources as saying that a command headquarters and a signal center in Daret Ezza, in the countryside of Aleppo, were destroyed in Russian and Syrian airstrikes.
The Moscow Times noted that most of the Russian strikes targeted other groups opposed to Assad.
“Who fought against extremism”, said Khaled Khoja, head of the National Coalition, in an interview.
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Another said they did not expect, nor want, help or assistance from the United States, but hoped that Saudi Arabia might step in after officials condemned the Russian strikes.
