Su-25 aircrafts in Syria. FILE IMAGE: Vadim Grishankin/Russian Defense Ministry Press and Information Office/TASS
On January 20, a new wave of Russian airstrikes hit hideouts of ISIS cells in the deserts of Homs and Deir Ezzor in Syria’s central region.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the airstrikes claimed the lives of eight terrorists and wounded at least ten others.
Russian warplanes have reportedly carried out more than 450 airstrikes on ISIS cells and their hideouts in central Syria since the beginning of January.
The recent Russian airstrikes were carried out in support of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies, who kicked off a large-scale combing operation in the central region. The operation will cover the eastern Homs countryside, the Hama-Aleppo-Raqqa triangle and the western desert of Deir Ezzor.
“Since the early hours of the morning, regime forces began targeting ISIS hideouts with heavy artillery in conjunction with airstrikes carried out by Russian warplanes,” the SOHR said in a report.
Last week, the SAA and its allies conducted a limited combing operation near the town of al-Bukamal in the southern countryside of Deir Ezzor with support from the Russian Aerospace Forces.
The pressure mounted by government forces and their allies have forced ISIS cells in central Syria to temporary halt their operations. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the terrorist group’s insurgency in the region is over.
“450 airstrikes?” It would be more accurate to state the number of “sorties” – one mission flown by one aircraft and the number of pieces of ordnance that was deployed (e.g. bombs, rockets, missiles).
Condolences to the fallen wahabimossad and CIAisis operators. May they rest in pieces…
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