Russians fire cruise missiles at IS targets to help Assad’s military

RUSSIANS WARSHIPS in the Mediterranean Sea have fired four cruise missiles at Islamic State positions in Syria, the defence ministry in Moscow said.

The announcement came as Syrian government troops pushed ahead in their offensive against IS and other militants.

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

Syrian troops have been on the offensive for weeks in northern, central and southern parts of the country against IS and US-backed rebels under the cover of Russian air strikes, gaining an area almost half the size of the Lebanon.

Most recently, Syrian troops and their allies have been marching towards the IS stronghold of Sukhna, about 35 miles north east of Palmyra.

The strategic juncture in the Syrian desert aids government plans to go after IS in Deir elZour, one of the militants’ last major strongholds in Syria.

The oil-rich province straddles the border with Iraq and is the extremist group’s last gateway to the outside world.

Russia, a staunch Damascus ally, has been providing air cover to President Bashar Assad’s offensive against IS 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.

Syrian troops have clashed with US-backed rebels, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights days after the US told Syrian government forces and their allies to move away from an area.