Russian Su-25 attack aircraft take off from the Khmeimim airbase in Syria © Dmitriy Vinogradov / Sputnik
On March 8, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a series of airstrikes on ISIS cells and their hideouts in Syria’s central region.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the airstrikes targeted al-Badiya, a vast desert area that lies between the eastern Homs countryside and the western countryside of Deir Ezzor. This area is the main stronghold of ISIS in central Syria. The results of the airstrikes remain unknown.
“Russian warplanes targeted places where Islamic State cells were likely to be located in different parts of the Syrian desert,” the London-based monitoring group said.
The Russian airstrikes came following a series of deadly attacks by ISIS cells in central Syria that claimed the lives of dozens of people. The vast majority of the victims were either truffle hunters, sheepherders or security personnel protecting them.
The latest attack took place near the town of Salamiyah in the eastern Hama countryside early on March 3. The terrorists killed three local sheepherders and stole as much as 1,000 sheep during the attack.
ISIS has not yet claimed responsibility for any of the recent attacks, which its terrorists clearly carried out to loot and plunder.
Russian airstrikes will likely continue to target ISIS cells and their hideouts in central Syria. Ground operations by the Syrian Arab Army and other prog-government factions are reportedly being prepared to mount more pressure on the terrorist group.
