Russia fighter jets pound Daesh positions in Syria’s Raqqah

Russia says its warplanes have successfully hit positions held by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group in Syria’s northern province of Raqqah, the stronghold of the militant outfit in the war-torn Arab country.

In a statement released on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Tupolev Tu-95 jets had taken off from Russia and flown over Iran and Iraq to get to Syria’s Raqqah, where they targeted Daesh positions “using X-101 cruise missiles.”

The Russian warplanes successfully destroyed the terrorists’ bases and training camps as well as a Daesh command center, the statement said.

It further said that Sukhoi Su-30CM and Su-35 fighter jets based at the Hmeymim air base, in Syria’s Latakia Province, provided air cover for the Raqqah operation.

All Russian aircraft returned safely to their bases after the Friday mission, the statement added.

In a separate development on Friday, the US Defense Department said that Daesh ringleaders were fleeing Raqqah amid advances by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed militant group comprised mostly of Syrian Kurds.

“We are starting to see now that a lot of senior ISIS leaders, a lot of their bureaucrats... are beginning the process of leaving Raqqah,” said Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis, using an English acronym for Daesh.

“They have definitely taken note of the fact that the end is near in Raqqah,” he said, describing the Daesh withdrawal as “very organized, orderly.”

Separately on Friday, Aleppo Governor Hussein Diab warned that Daesh had pumped large amounts of Euphrates’ water and was seeking to flood areas in eastern Aleppo, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported.

He said all public construction companies and concerned bodies were on alert to do everything necessary to mitigate possible damage from the Daesh sabotage.

SS