He said the Russian military air fleet in Syria was reinforced by 8 Su-34 bombers and a unit of SU-27SM3 jet fighters.
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Russian Federation is coordinating its air strikes with Damascus, unlike the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, which Assad and his government criticise as ineffectual.
President Vladimir Putin said the attack had deprived IS of $1.5 million in daily income from oil sales.
Russian warplanes have flown 522 sorties and destroyed over 800 targets over the last four days, according to Shoigu.
Flights to and from two northern Iraqi airports were suspended for 48 hours beginning on Monday due to danger posed by Russian cruise missiles heading for neighboring Syria, officials said.
Stay on topic – This helps keep the thread focused on the discussion at hand.
“And it begs the question of whether Russian Federation is firing cruise missiles into Syria from Iranian airspace”.
In those four days alone, Shoigu said, Russia has unleashed 101 high-tech cruise missiles – fired from aircraft as well as from Russian warships in the Caspian and Mediterranean Seas.
The Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, convened on September 30 to approve President Putin’s request for the use of the country’s armed forces in Syria against the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist groupings.
Russian broadcasts have released a video in which a man is seen writing “For our People!” and “For Paris!” in black pen on aerial bombs mere minutes before a warplane is set to launch from the country’s airbase in Syria. He added that Syrian troops had achieved victories in some areas before the strikes began but “could not be present everywhere in Syria”.
“Under the Russian president’s decree, the General Staff is working out joint anti-terrorism operations with the French Navy”, says Colonel-General Andrey Kartapolov of Russia’s General Staff, according to state news outlet Tass.
Deir al-Zour province is also rich in oil.
The Erbil airport spokesman said a change in the missiles’ route brought them “uncomfortably close” to the airport, without providing more details.
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Moscow says the campaign is aimed at helping the Syrian army in its anti-terror fight and also preventing the return of more than 2,000 Russian nationals who have joined Daesh ranks in Syria.
