Yesterday, the 1st of October, the Russian Air Force detachment used its newly arrived Su-34 sub strategic bombers for the first time, in air strikes against the Free Syrian Army and ISIS. According to Reuters, the detachment could continue bombing enemy targets for at least three or four months.
At the moment there are six Su-34 state of the art bombers in Syria, along with 12 Su-24M2 tactical bombers and 12 Su-25SM close ground support attack aircraft.
Yesterday Russian aircraft bombed Qastoun, al-Ziyara, the outskirts of Kafr Nabl, Jisr al-Shughourt, Ghantu, Liwa Suqour al-Jabal training camp and Latamina (for a second time).
The same day they also bombed five targets controlled by ISIS: Tabqa airbase, Tabaqa Hospital, a training camp at Mahdan-Jadid near the city of Raqqa, a covert command center near Qasert-Faraj and the city of Shadadi that sits along a strategic ISIS supply route.
The Russian Su-34s also bombed Jabal al-Akrad, Jabal al-Turkman, Ma`arrat Tayrah, Al Habit and Balyun.
Two days ago, on the 30th of September, during the first day of air strikes, the Russians bombed Talbisa, Rastan, Latamina, Tal wasit, Mansoura, Al-Za’faranah, the countryside north of Homs, and according to unconfirmed sources, the city of Aqraba in southern Syria.
The Russian aircraft are using OFAB 250-270 unguided high explosive fragmentation bombs and KAB-500S-E Glonass/GPS guided bombs with a cited CEP of 7 to 12 meters.
In total Russian aircraft have conducted 125 airstrikes in three days, most of them in northern Syria.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, in the past 24 hours Russian Su-34 bombers and Su-25SM close ground support attack aircraft carried out 18 sorties against ISIS and destroyed a total of 12 targets.
The first three days of the Russian air campaign have focused mostly on targets in northern Syria. They have been bombing the edges of areas controlled by the rebels north of the city of Hama. They have also hit targets inside the enclave located a few miles to the north of the city of Homs.
Russian forces are trying to secure these areas in order to deter rocket attacks from these locations against their facilities and to prepare the ground for a large scale offensive by Syrian forces to recapture the Idlib region.
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