Russia fires cruise missiles at Daesh

moscow — Russians warships in the Mediterranean Sea have fired four cruise missiles at the Daesh group’s positions in Syria, the Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday.

The announcement came as Syrian government troops pushed ahead in their offensive against Daesh and militants in central and northern Syria.

Moscow said in a statement that the Admiral Essen frigate and the Krasnodar submarine launched the missiles at Daesh targets in the area of the ancient town of Palmyra. There was no information on when the missiles were launched.

Russia, a staunch Damascus ally, has been providing air cover to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s offensive on Daesh and other insurgents since 2015. Moscow had fired cruise missiles from warships in the past, as well as from mainland Russia against Assad’s opponents.

As the fighting against Daesh militants is underway near Palmyra, Syrian troops clashed with USbacked rebels in the country’s south on Wednesday, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Mozahem Al Salloum, of the activist-run Hammurabi Justice News network that tracks developments in eastern Syria.

The fighting came days after the US told Syrian government forces and their allies to move away from an area near the Jordanian border where the coalition is training allied rebels. The warning comes less than two weeks after the Americans bombed Iranian-backed troops there after they failed to heed similar warnings.

Russia’s defence ministry said in its Wednesday statement that the strikes successfully hit Daesh heavy weapons and fighters whom the group who had deployed and moved to Palmyra from the Daesh stronghold of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the militant group and its self-proclaimed caliphate.

Moscow said it had notified the US, Turkish and Israeli militaries beforehand of the upcoming strike. It added that the Russian strike was promptly executed following the order, a testimony to the navy’s high readiness and capabilities. —