[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Russia has deployed strategic bombers to launch strikes on ISIS and al-Nusra...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front targets in Syria, the Defense Ministry reported. The bombers flew from Russia for the mission, and fired cruise missiles while over the Mediterranean Sea.
With in-flight refueling on two occasions, the bombers covered a distance of some 11,000km (6,835 miles), flying over a northern sea route and the eastern Atlantic.
Su-33 fighter jets from Russia’s Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier and air forces from the Khmeimim base in Syria were also deployed in the strikes on Thursday, Interfax reported, citing the Defense Ministry. Su-30 jets provided cover for the mission, the report added.
After launching cruise missiles at terrorist targets in Syria, the Russian jets returned to base, the ministry said.
Terrorist command points, weapons and ammunition depots, as well as an arms production facility were targeted by the strikes, the Russian military said, adding that all coordinates had been checked through several intelligence channels.
"The results of the strikes were also controlled by drones," the Defense Ministry reported.