Moscow: Russian warplanes have struck 118 “terrorist” targets in Syria over the past 24 hours in a new record, the defence ministry said today, attributing the rise to new intelligence.
Russian jets hit 118 targets during 71 sorties over the provinces of Idlib, Homs, Hama, Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia, said the defence ministry.
It was the highest one-day tally since the Kremlin began its bombing campaign on September 30.
The previous record was set on Monday when Moscow said it had struck 94 “terrorist” targets in Syria.
The defence ministry released no information yesterday.
“The number of sorties has gone up,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This is due to an increase in intelligence data,” he said, adding that targets had been “confirmed via various channels.”
The strikes destroyed a command post near the town of Talbisseh in Homs province which belonged to Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, said the ministry.
Among the other targets was a base in Aleppo province used to control a “terrorist” weapon supply route which was “destroyed” along with car-mounted anti-aircraft systems that were protecting it, it said.
In Idlib province, the warplanes hit a “camouflaged supply base” with munitions and materiel, which caused an explosion that also destroyed trucks parked some 500 metres away.
Moscow says its bombing campaign targets Islamic State jihadists and other “terrorists” but the United States and its allies accuse Russia of targeting Western-backed moderate rebels fighting Kremlin-backed President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.