Since the beginning of its operation in Syria on September 30, the Russian Aerospace Forces have carried out 934 sorties in Syria, destroying a total of 819 terrorist facilities, the Russian General Staff said Thursday.
Concerning Pentagon, which "doesn't see targets": Russian #UAV's detect considerable increase in number of new #ISIS targets in #SYRIA
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) October 22, 2015
Terrorists in Syria have lost offensive capabilities amid the Russian airstrikes and are deserting en masse to Turkey and Jordan, Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Russian General Staff Main Operations Directorate said.
The Syrian Army continues its offensive in the provices of Aleppo, Latakia, Idlib, Homs, and Damascus, Kartapolov said.
#SYRIA #PHOTO: Aircraft preparation of Russian air grouping for combat sorties in Syria https://t.co/SRuA0ZYv8D pic.twitter.com/VcQpnE0Gey
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) 22 октября 2015
Russian forces have struck a bridge over the Euphrates river in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province, cutting off supplies for Islamic State militants from Iraq, Kartapolov added.
"A key part of the supply chain is a bridge across the Euphrates river in the region of Deir ez-Zor. Today, Russian pilots carried out a surgical strike on this object, which resulted in the bridge becoming impossible to use for terrorists," he told reporters.
According to Kartapolov, this supply route from Iraq was located by Russian drones.
"I wish to underline that the strike was carried out in an area, which, according to our American partners, is under the complete control of IS units," he noted.
Some field commanders are reaching out to the Syrian Army, proposing local ceasefires and negotiations, Kartapolov added.
The leader of a militant gang in Syria's Aleppo region sustained serious injuries in a battle with Syrian government forces, and his group has been defeated, the he went on to say.
The Islamic State has stopped the shelling of Damascus amid an offensive by Syrian government troops, the General Staff spokesman said.
#SYRIA Russian jets strike effectiveness increased: now each jet eliminate 2 or more targets per sortie individually pic.twitter.com/TJ8QwacOZa
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) October 22, 2015
"In spite of stubborn resistance by the militants, their encirclement continues to steadily shrink, block after block is freed. The most obvious result of this operation is the fact that, for the first time in quite a long time, the shelling of Syria's capital has stopped," he told reporters.
"During fighting in the southern suburbs of Aleppo, a leader of the al-Walid gang, so-called Sheikh Ahmad, was seriously wounded by Syrian government forces, and the gang was completely destroyed," he said.
Russia started precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria on September 30, following a request from Syria's internationally recognized government. The Russian airstrikes hit targets that are chosen based on intelligence collected by Russia, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
