Russian Cruise Missiles Strike ISIS, 600 Terrorists Dead — Russians Write ‘That’s For Paris’ On Bomb
A single Russian cruise missile strike in Syria killed about 600 ISIS terrorists earlier this week, according to news reports out of Russia. The strike was part of a massive missile and bombing blitz by Russia over the first four days of the week that has inflicted serious damage on the ISIS militants there, according to an announcement Friday by Russia Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
In those four days alone, Shoigu said, Russia has unleashed 101 high-tech cruise missiles — fired from aircraft as well as from Russian warships in the Caspian and Mediterranean Seas.
The Russians released video of their ships firing cruise missiles toward ISIS targets in Syria, and that video can be viewed above, on this page, courtesy of The Guardian newspaper.
The 101 cruise missiles were just one portion of the Russian bombardment of ISIS targets in Syria. Since Monday, Russian bombers have dropped 1,400 tons of bombs, while all Russian aircraft have flown 522 sorties.
Just to make sure the ISIS terrorists on the ground got the message, Russian airmen on one mission inscribed the side of their bombs with the slogan “That’s for Paris.”
Russian bomb in Syria. The inscription reads: “That’s for Paris” pic.twitter.com/bxaIWCrZfO
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) November 20, 2015
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While the Russian air raids against ISIS are at least partly retaliation for the Paris terrorist attacks that killed 130 last Friday, Western leaders and foreign policy experts have expressed fears that the Russian anti-ISIS air strikes are simply an excuse for Russian President Vladimir Putin to strike against other, more moderate rebel groups in Syria who are also fighting against the regime of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad.
Putin has long backed Assad, while the United States wants to see the Syrian dictator deposed.
In fact, on Tuesday, Russia announced strikes against what it said were ISIS targets in the Syria provinces of Aleppo and Idlib. But those areas, as a report in The Daily Beast online magazine noted, are not considered to be under ISIS control, and instead are held by other rebel groups supported by the U.S. — groups which may have taken a pounding in the Russian bombardment.
On Monday, Putin said that the Russians would provide air support for anti-Assad groups, in the interests of teaming with the U.S. and other Western allies in the fight against ISIS. If he backs up his word with actions, Putin’s pledge could prove to be a turning point in the military campaign against ISIS in Syria. But whether he was genuinely sincere in that promise has not yet been clear.
Nonetheless, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the 600 ISIS militants killed by a Russian cruise missile strike were located in the Deir ez-Zor province, an area where ISIS made significant gains in two major military offensives last year.
This year, Syrian government forces have reclaimed portions of that province, about 300 miles northeast of Damascus, the capital city of Syria.
“A total of 23 training centers, 19 plants for the production of weapons and explosive substances, 47 munitions and materiel depots and other facilities have been destroyed. It facilitates success of the Syrian government troops in the provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia and Palmira,” Russian Defense Minister Shoigu claimed.
He also said that due to the Russian aerial attacks, the number of militants entering Syria in order to join or train with ISIS — terrorists who could return to Europe and other areas to carry out attacks similar to those that struck Paris last week — has been reduced.
“According to objective control data, the number of terrorists arriving in Syria is declining, and the flow of militants leaving areas of combat operation is growing in the northern and south-western directions,” the Russian Defense Minister said.
The claims that Russian missiles killed 600 terrorists and destroyed the ISIS facilities named by Shoigu has not yet been independently confirmed by the United States, or other allies now carrying out bombing raids in Syria.
[Featured Photo By Russian Defense Ministry via Associated Press]
