Russian jets target main Daesh stronghold in Syria: Report
Russian fighter jets have reportedly bombed the main stronghold of the Takfiri Daesh terror group in Syria’s Raqqa Province, four days into Moscow’s military campaign against terrorists in the Arab state.
“Several Russian strikes” hit Daesh positions west of the provincial capital, also called Raqqa, overnight, and “explosions were heard in the city,” the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said of the Saturday raids.
The western edge of Raqqa had also been targeted by Russian warplanes on Thursday, said the London-based group, adding that the attacks killed 12 Daesh militants.
The Russian Defense Ministry and the Kremlin said Russian aircraft bombed Daesh targets six times on Friday.
Moscow began its military campaign against terrorists on September 30 upon a request from the Damascus government.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said one of the key objectives of Moscow’s anti-terror airstrikes in Syria is to preserve the Arab country’s territorial integrity.
However, the Russian raids have drawn criticism from Western governments and their allies in the Middle East, which have been supporting the militants operating in the region.
The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey released a joint statement on Friday, criticizing the Russian airstrikes that they claimed had not targeted Daesh positions.
US President Barack Obama called Moscow’s aerial campaign a “recipe for disaster” and claimed his Russian counterpart cannot “distinguish between” Daesh terrorists and the so-called moderate militants.
The Russian air raids on Daesh bases come as the US and its allies including the Persian Gulf Arab kingdoms – which have actively supported the foreign-backed war in Syria since 2011 – have been involved in airstrikes against alleged Daesh militants in Syria without authorization from the Syrian government.
In an address to the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem hailed the Russian aerial campaign as an “effective” participation in Syria’s battle against terrorism.
The top Syrian diplomat said the use of airstrikes in his country would be useless unless it is coordinated with the Damascus government.
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