Smoke rises from an emergency service point after an airstrike at the rebel-held village of Maar Zita in Idlib province, Syria April 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

DAMASCUS, May 27 (Xinhua) -- At least 120 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed by Russian airstrikes on the road between Raqqa province and the ancient city of Palmyra, state news agency SANA reported on Saturday.

The Russian warplanes struck a convoy of IS fighters moving from the northern city of Raqqa toward an area near the ancient city of Palmyra, said the report.

It added that the convoy constituted of 39 pickup trucks outfitted with machine guns.

Targeting IS on that desert road is part of a campaign the Syrian army and its allies of Hezbollah and Russian air force have unleashed against IS positions in that part of the country.

The aim is to clear the desert areas all the way to the Iraqi and Jordanian borders from IS presence.