Russian Su-25 attack aircraft take off from the Khmeimim airbase in Syria © Dmitriy Vinogradov / Sputnik
On September 3, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a series of airstrikes on ISIS cells in Syria’s central region.
The airstrikes reportedly hit hideouts of the terrorist group around the town of Resafa in the southern countryside of Raqqa. The results of the airstrikes are yet to be reported.
ISIS cells have been very active in the southern Raqqa countryside. On August 31, the terrorist ambushed a vehicle of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) a road to the west of Tabqah Air Base. According to the Amaq news agency two service members were killed and two others were wounded as a result of the ambush. The Russian airstrikes were likely a response to the attack.
Over the past year, most of ISIS cells in central Syria moved from the eastern countryside of Homs to the southern Raqqa countryside. The terrorists are likely focusing on the region because of its proximity to northeastern Syria, where ISIS presence is the strongest.
The SAA and its allies, first and foremost the Russian military, have been conducting extensive operations against ISIS cells in the southern Raqqa countryside for well over three months now. Yet, the terrorist group’s presence in the region appears to be growing.
