Russian Air Force strikes large ISIS base in Syria after opposition provides coordinates - MoD
A "large base" of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Idlib province was destroyed by a Russian Su-25 fighter bomber after Syrian opposition forces provided the Russian military with the coordinates of the target.
An IS command post and an ammunition depot were at the base, Russia's Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.
Another hidden terrorist hotspot was destroyed in the Homs province. The underground base was successfully targeted by Su-24M, ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov told journalists in Latakia, Syria.
"The more precisely the terrorists are hit by us, the more fuss arises in foreign media with links to some anonymous sources, citing allegedly indiscriminate attacks by Russian jets," Konashenkov said.
"Today we are the only army in the world who in detail shows how and exactly with which Russian precise weapons from jets and warships we destroy terrorists' targets," he added.
Unlike the Russian anti-terror operation command in Syria, the US-led coalition has not organized coverage for journalists in the region, Konashenkov said. "No one has even heard of press tours to air bases of the anti-IS coalition," he added, saying that as a result, the action of Russian Air Force in Syria is more often "unintentionally" presented as the coalition efforts on international television.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Russian military in Syria are in "constant contact" with the Syrian opposition forces fighting IS. The opposition is providing the Russian Air Force with coordinates to strike at terrorists.
Russian jets also destroyed a large number of illegal oil facilities in Syria in one day. More than 100 tanker trucks belonging to terrorists' have been destroyed by Russian airstrikes, the ministry reported. Large convoys of tanker trucks were hit in Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor regions in northeastern and eastern Syria.
READ MORE: Russian military needs no second base in Syria – Defense Ministry
More than 320 terrorists were killed over the past 24 hours, according to the Defense Ministry.
A number of heavy military equipment belonging to the militants was also destroyed by the Russian jets, including tanks and armored vehicles.
Russian military aviation in Syria has conducted 59 sorties over the past 24 hours, having bombed over 200 terrorists' targets in Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, Homs, Raqqa and other provinces, Konashenkov said.
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