Syrian Air Force Strikes Daesh Positions in Western Part of Raqqa Province

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The strikes were inflicted on Daesh positions in the villages of Deir Mleihan, Dibsi Afnan and al-Qadisiya in the western part of Raqqa province, killing dozens of terrorists, destroying their posts and armored vehicles, the Syrian state agency SANA reported, citing a military source.

The strikes came at a time when the US-led coalition carried out an offensive, part of the larger operation to retake the city of Raqqa.

Raqqa has been under the control of Daesh since 2013, and is the de-facto capital of the self-proclaimed Daesh caliphate. The operation to retake Raqqa, conducted by a coalition consisting of almost 70 countries, has been on-going since November 2016. The strikes in Syria are not authorized by the UN Security Council or the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.