MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. Militants of the Islamic State (IS, terror group, outlawed in Russia) no longer have sources of financing in Syria for purchasing weapons and ammunition and recruiting mercenaries, the group’s economic infrastructure in that country has been destroyed, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Tuesday.
"The Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed the economic infrastructure of ISIL (former name of IS - TASS) in Syria and foil any attempts by terrorists to resume the production and illegal sale of hydrocarbons in Syria. ISIL no longer has the sources of financing for purchasing weapons and ammunition and recruiting mercenaries in Syria," he said.
"The ongoing supply of terrorists from Iraq triggers serious questions concerning the objectives of operations against terrorists conducted in the region by US aircraft and the so-called international coalition," Konashenkov stressed.
Up to 150 strikes per day
Russia’s Aerospace Forces carry out up to 150 strikes per day on the forces joining the Islamic State militants near Mayadin in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor Governorate, he said.
The Syrian forces backed by Russia’s air task force have significantly extended the territory controlled by them to the northwest and southeast of Deir ez-Zor over the past week, he said. Now an operation is underway to liberate a major IS stronghold near Mayadin, located some 40 km to the southeast of Deir ez-Zor.
The terrorists carry out attempts to send forces to Mayadin, including foreign mercenaries, who had intruded Syria from Iraq. The militants arrive in armored vehicles, pickups with large-caliber weapons and are well-equipped, Konashenkov said.
"Aircraft of Russia’s Aerospace Forces crush these IS forces round-the-clock together with the rounds of ammunition and armored vehicles, delivering up to 150 airstrikes per day," the spokesman said.
IS-controlled territory in Iraq
Militants of the Islamic State group control a larger territory in the western part of Iraq and this area continues growing, he went on.
"In the western part of Iraq, from where the terrorist forces are arriving to the eastern bank of the Euphrates River (where the Russian Aerospace Forces are not operating), the IS-controlled territory continues growing, and it is manifold larger than in Syria," Konashenkov said.
The United States and the coalition led by it have substantially reduced the intensity of strikes on the Islamic State in Iraq with the beginning of the Syrian army’s operation to liberate the Deir ez-Zor province, he added.
According to Konashenkov, if one analyzes the statistics provided by the Pentagon on the sorties as part of the campaign to fight IS, "one does not need profound knowledge of military affairs to see some strange changes."
"For example, in September, with the beginning of the operation conducted by Syrian troops supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces to recapture the Deir Ez-Zor province from ISIL (former name of IS - TASS) the US-led international coalition has substantially reduced the intensity of strikes against ISIL in Iraq, to several times per day, carrying out almost five times less strikes than on Syria," he said.
"Strangely enough, this decrease in the intensity of strikes in Iraq has coincided with the redeployment of large terrorist forces from Iraq’s border areas to Deir ez-Zor that are now trying to gain a foothold on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. The US-led coalition imitating the fight against ISIL, above all, in Iraq, sees all that but continues to allegedly actively fight ISIL in Syria, for some reason," Konashenkov said.
He added that today Islamic State militants control a larger territory in the western part of Iraq than in Syria, and this area continues to grow. "In the western part of Iraq, from where the terrorist forces are arriving at the eastern bank of the Euphrates River (where the Russian Aerospace Forces are not operating), the IS-controlled territory continues growing, and it is manifold larger than in Syria," he stressed.
According to Konashenkov, the Islamic State is recapturing the neighborhoods of Raqqa, which the US called the key priority in the fight against this terror group, that they left earlier.
"The liberation of Raqqa that is now far behind the lines, which the US and the coalition had called the key priority in the fight against ISIL (former name of IS - TASS) for six months, has come to a halt, to put it mildly, considering the current ISIL’s achievements to regain control over the city’s neighborhoods they left earlier," he said.
Konashenkov added that "the actions of the Pentagon and the coalition require clarification. Does such a shift in the US and the coalition’s priorities mean the desire to complicate the operation conducted by the Syrian army supported by Russia’s Aerospace Forces to liberate Syria’s territory east of the Euphrates? Or is it a possibility to liberate Iraq from ISIL terrorists driving them into Syria under the precise airstrikes of the Russian Aerospace Forces?" he noted.
IS recapturing Raqqa
Militants of the Islamic State are recapturing the neighborhoods of Syria’s Raqqa they left earlier, he added.
"The liberation of Raqqa that is now far behind the lines, which the US and the coalition had called the key priority in the fight against ISIL for six months, has come to a halt, to put it mildly, considering the current ISIL’s achievements to regain control over the city’s neighborhoods they left earlier," he said.
"The actions of the Pentagon and the coalition require clarification. Does such a shift in the US and the coalition’s priorities mean the desire to complicate the operation conducted by the Syrian army supported by Russia’s Aerospace Forces to liberate Syria’s territory east of the Euphrates? Or is it a possibility to liberate Iraq from ISIL terrorists driving them into Syria under the precise airstrikes of the Russian Aerospace Forces?" Konashenkov noted.