News   /   Syria

Russian airstrikes hit over 470 Daesh targets across Syria

A file picture taken on October 3, 2015 shows a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber taking off from the Hmeimim airbase in the Syrian province of Latakia. (AFP)

Russia’s Air Force has bombed more than 470 positions of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group across Syria over the past 48 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry says

Major General Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, said in a daily briefing on Monday that Russian fighter jets had pounded at least 472 Daesh targets in Aleppo, Damascus, Idlib, Latakia, Hama, Raqqa, Homs, and Dayr al-Zawr provinces.

Konashenkov added that the Russian aircraft conducted over 140 sorties across the militant-riddled regions over the past two days.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the senior official pointed out that Russian airstrikes had also torched more than 1,000 tankers taking stolen crude oil to the Dash-held refineries over the past five days. Konashenkov noted that all Russian aircraft successfully returned to the Khmeimim airbase near Latakia.

“Russian bombers taking off from the Khmeimim airbase flew on combat missions to destroy tanker convoys and oil refineries in the areas of oilfields in the north and east of Syria,” Konashenkov said, adding. “A major oil depot was destroyed 15 kilometers southwest of the city of Raqqa.”

Daesh’s main source of income is the sale of oil extracted from the fields it has captured since last year. Reports say the Takfiris control several oil fields in northern Iraq as well as Syria’s Raqqa Province.

This file photo shows Daesh terrorists refining oil to produce gas and diesel near the northern Syrian city of Raqqah.

Daesh also finances its acts of terror through drug trafficking, the sale of antiquities, and ransom from abductions. Furthermore, reports indicate that wealthy individuals in the Persian Gulf region have raised major funds for the terror group.

Following an official request from the Syrian government on September 30, Russia launched military airstrikes targeting positions of Daesh and other militant groups in Syria. The Russian Navy has also contributed to the fight against the terrorists, firing missiles at the Daesh targets in Syria from its warships in the Caspian Sea.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in an interview with China's Phoenix television on Sunday, hailed Russia's military engagement against terrorists in the violence-wrecked country, adding that since the beginning of the Russian campaign on September 30, terrorists had begun to retreat and flee in thousands.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku