Russia warplanes bombed 1500 terror targets in Syria, Ministry claims
December 5, 2015, 5:22 am

Earlier, Putin announced that Russian aerial and naval forces would closely work with the French forces in the Mediterranean to carry out joint missions against ISIL [Xinhua]

“Twelve fuel pump stations, 8 oil fields and oil and gas facilities as well as more than 170 tanker trucks have been destroyed (in Syria) over the past week,” Konashenkov said.

Russia’s Sukhoi-34 bombers over the past day have destroyed several dozen tanker trucks and other vehicles for transporting oil products, Igor Konashenkov told a news briefing.

“Over the past day alone Sukhoi-34 bombers attacked two truck convoys on the roads in the areas of Aleppo and Raqqah to destroy up to 40 tanker trucks and other vehicles equipped for transporting fuel supplies,” Konashenkov said.

Earlier, the Defense Ministry claimed that Russian air strikes had caused the militants’ incomes from illegal oil trade to fall by half from $3 million to $1.5 million. The terrorists have at their disposal about 8,500 tanker trucks carrying more than 200,000 barrels of crude a day.

“We’re registering these facts more and more frequently and this information is confirmed by various channels,” he said. “The militants are suffering serious losses are demoralized and seeking to clear out of their positions. For instance, they abandoned positions in the vicinity of Jebel Rumeli, Hazem al-Abyat and Wadi al-Sayyah.”

Russian military also tracked down a disguised command center of the terrorists where from they had been coordinating artillery fire at population centres. The airstrikes also “destroyed a large militant base” at a strategic location near Kassab in Latakia region, the Ministry said.

“Aircraft strikes fully destroyed the center and fully disoriented the steering of artillery strikes in the area,” Gen Konashenkov said.

The Russian military said in mid-November that they would focus the air strikes on facilities for the production, storage, transportation and processing of fuel controlled by the Islamic State militants.

The Islamic State is banned in Russia as a terrorist organization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against “double standards” in the fight against terrorism in an overt reference to both Turkey and the US, while reiterating the need to “forget our differences to build a common anti-terrorist front” during an annual address to the Russian Parliament on Thursday.

Tensions between Russia and Turkey – potentially, Nato – contine to be tense in the wake of the downing of the SU-24 fighter jet in Syria.

“Every civilised country must contribute to the fight against terrorism, reaffirming their solidarity, not in word but in deed. This means that the terrorists must not be given refuge anywhere. There must be no double standards. No contacts with terrorist organisations. No attempts to use them for self-seeking goals. No criminal business with terrorists,” said Putin noting that the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is “a destructive and barbarous ideology”.

Putin stressed that Moscow would not forget the Nov. 24 incident of Turkey downing one of its jets and that Russia continued to regard it as a terrible betrayal.

Launching a scathing attack on the current leadership in Turkey, Putin said there can be no business as usual with Ankara.

In the wake of the Paris attacks, French President Francois Hollande has been pushing for a grand coalition which includes Russia and the US. But this has been complicated by the Turkish downing of the Russian fighter jet and Washington’s insistence that Moscow drop its backing for Syrian President Bashar Al Assad to continue to play a role in any political solution to the crisis there.

For his part, Putin said Russia is ready and willing to work with France in any anti-terrorism effort.

TBP and Agencies