Moscow has announced to intensify air bombing campaign against Islamic State militants in different parts of Syria.
Russian authorities said that Islamic State and other opposition groups were being targeted in the bombing campaign continued with support of ground attacks by the pro-government forces.
A Russian defense ministry representative said on Saturday Russia had intensified its campaign in the last 24 hours, with 64 sorties hitting 55 targets, Russian news agencies reported.
On the other hand, rebels and Western states alleged that Moscow’s air campaign is mainly targeting rebel groups not associated with Islamic State which include U.S. trained fighters.
A Russian defense ministry representative, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, said on Saturday Russia had intensified its campaign in the last 24 hours, with 64 sorties hitting 55 targets, Russian news agencies reported.
He claimed that the targets hit as controlled by IS militants. He added that they included command and control centers, weapons depots and training bases, located in the Syrian provinces of Raqqa, Hama, Damascus and Aleppo, Reuters reported.
Konashenkov said one of the targets hit near Aleppo was a concealed base for military vehicles, which he said had received a direct hit from an Su-24M bomber. More than ten vehicles had been destroyed, including two tanks and five infantry vehicles, he said in comments cited by Interfax.
However, Islamic State militants have been advancing on Aleppo in recent days, seizing villages in the province from rival insurgents.
