News / Syria / Russia

Russian submarines attack Daesh targets in Dayr al-Zawr

Thursday, 14 September 2017 1:43 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 14 September 2017 3:24 PM ]

This file photo released by Russia's Defense Ministry shows a missile being fired from a submarine.

Russia says it has launched a missile attack against positions held by Daesh in Syria’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr from the submarines stationed in the Mediterranean Sea.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said seven Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from Russia’s Velikiy Novgorod and Kolpino submarines in the eastern Mediterranean. The missiles, it said, hit all the planned targets, which were within a range of 500 to 670 kilometers.

The targets that came under the attack included “control centers, communication hubs, militant weapons and ammunition warehouses in ISIS (Daesh)-controlled areas in southeast Dayr al-Zawr,” the statement read.

Earlier this month, the Syrian government forces broke the three-year-long Daesh siege on Dayr al-Zawr city, the provincial capital of the oil-rich province of the same name.

Syrian government forces celebrate in the city of Dayr al-Zawr on September 11, 2017 as they press ahead with a counter-terrorism operation. (Photo by AFP)

Syrian soldiers are now preparing for a fresh offensive to cleanse Dayr al-Zawr of Daesh elements.

On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus and submitted a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin, “congratulating him on lifting the siege” on Dayr al-Zawr.

Russia has been conducting air raids against Daesh and other terrorist outfits in Syria at the Damascus government’s request since September 2015.

Russia has also maintained a naval group in the Mediterranean since the start of its anti-terror campaign in Syria.

Daesh has recently retreated from much of the territory under its control amid sweeping advances by Syrian army soldiers and allied fighters on the battlefield.

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