Russian warship, sub fire cruise missiles at IS in Syria: Moscow

A Russian warship and submarine have fired cruise missiles at Islamic State group targets around Palmyra in Syria from the Mediterranean, Moscow said Wednesday, the first such strikes announced in months.

In this frame grab provided on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 by Russian Defense Ministry press service, long-range Kalibr cruise missile is launched

In this frame grab provided on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 by Russian Defense Ministry press service, long-range Kalibr cruise missile is launched Source: AAP

The frigate Admiral Essen and submarine Krasnodar carried out four strikes against military hardware and fighters from the jihadist group who had left its de-facto capital Raqa, the Russian military said in a statement. 

"All the targets were hit," the statement said, without specifying when the strikes happened. 

Moscow said that the US, Turkish and Israeli military "were informed in a timely manner of the missile launches through existing communication channels."

President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the successful strikes by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Kremlin said.

Russia has been conducting a bombing campaign since 2015 in support of President Bashar al-Assad and has a naval contingent deployed to the eastern Mediterranean to bolster its firepower. 

Moscow has, however, not announced any strikes from the sea in recent months as it focuses on pushing a fragile truce between the government and rebels. 

Islamic State is not included in the ceasefire.

Share
1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AFP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Russian warship, sub fire cruise missiles at IS in Syria: Moscow | SBS News