MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. Russia’s Aerospace Forces planes have started dealing pinpoint strikes against the positions of the Islamic State group in Syria, outlawed in Russia as terrorist, Major-General Igor Konashenkov has told the media.
"In accordance with a decision by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin Russian Aerospace Forces planes on Wednesday started an operation to deal pinpoint strikes against ground targets of the IS terrorist group in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic," he said. "The Russian Defense Minister, General of the Army Sergey Shoigu has told his counterparts in the Collective Security Treaty Organization that in the course of the military operation in Syria Russian warplanes have been attacking military equipment, communication centers, motor vehicles, and munitions and fuel and lubricants depots of the Islamic State terrorists.
The upper house of Russia's parliament on Wednesday empowered the Russian president to use Russian military outside the national territory. As the chief of the presidential staff Sergey Ivanov explained, the air operation was to be launched against the Islamic State in Syria at the request of Syria’s president Bashar Assad. Earlier, Vladimir Putin said that Russia would not be involved in operations on the ground.