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BEIJING,Oct. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Moscow's air force has launched a new wave of strikes, hitting 27 Islamic State targets.
The Russian defense ministry released three videos showing bombs hitting targets in north-west Idlib province and in the northern Aleppo province inside Syria.
These strikes took place overnight Wednesday and early Thursday.Meanwhile, Russia has rejected reports that their strikes target civilians and Syrian opposition forces.
The Russia Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that its flight jets made 22 flights in Syria, hitting 27 targets, including ISIL training camps.
The Defense Ministry also said Wednesday that Russia carried out a total of 1 hundred and 12 strikes since the start of its operation in late September.
This means the total number of Russian strikes has come to 1 hundred and 34.
Russia also used its navy for the first time Wednesday, firing 26 cruise missiles from 4 warships on the Caspian Sea.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova Thursday again denied reports that Russia was targeting civilians in Syria.
She called these reports 'misinformation'. She also responded to allegations that the Russian airstrikes are targeting the Syrian opposition, saying that there are many opposition groups in Syria.
And these groups are often intertwined. Maria Zakharova defended Russia's operation there, saying that Russia is carrying out its strikes jointly with the Syrian army.
"We say that we flew there first at the request of the Syrian government. And what is most important, we coordinate our actions with the Syrian army that resists ISIL on the ground. This is a key point. And we say that the actions of the (US-led) coalition are not effective in our view for this very reason, because it is not possible to fight ISIL from the air. One can fight ISIL only joining forces with those who fight on the ground. In Syria it is undoubtedly the Syrian army," Zakharova said.
Maria Zakharova also ruled out any ground operations in Syria and she denied reports that Russia is sending volunteers there.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
