At least 36 dead in bombing raids in eastern Syria: monitor

The army has made minimal progress on the ground, according to groups monitoring the war, though the Russian strikes have reportedly boosted morale among government troops and supporters.

Main efforts were concentrated on undermining the finance and economic capacity of the IS, which would prevent daily supplies of 60,000 tons of oil worth 1.5 million USA dollars flowing to the black market, the statement added.

The Caspian isn’t the only sea from which Russian Federation is firing cruise missiles at Syria.

In its bombing campaign, Moscow has twice fired salvoes of cruise missiles from warships in the Caspian Sea that passed over northern Iraq en route to their targets in Syria, most recently on Friday.

Russia’s air force participation in fighting terrorism in Syria has improved the situation in the Arab country, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with the Hong Kong-based television channel Phoenix TV quoted by SANA news agency on Sunday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that a global coalition is needed to fight the global terror threat posed by groups like the Islamic State group.

The BBC’s Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says that in the Russian Defence Ministry video soldiers can be seen writing messages on the bombs before loading them onto the aircraft – phrases like: “This is revenge for our dead” and “This is for Paris”.

The Russian military said the latest strikes had destroyed 80 tanker trucks near the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, as well as a large oil storage tank and a oil refinery south of the city.

If he backs up his word with actions, Putin’s pledge could prove to be a turning point in the military campaign against ISIS in Syria.

Shoigu said the Russian air force had conducted 522 sorties and deployed more than 100 cruise missiles since 17 November.

The Russian strongman has ordered his military not to let up in their raids as ISIS continues to be degraded by a sustained aerial bombardment.

In a meeting in Viena last weekend, 17 nations have agreed with a peace plan for Syria that states that “free and fair elections would be held pursuant to the new constitution within 18 months”.