(Zaman Al Wasl)-At least 13 civilians, including women and children, have been killed in Russian airstrikes on last ISIS-held villages in eastern Syria in the past 48 hours, local media unit said on Friday.
Journalist Suhaib al-Jaber from Furat Post said 8 people, including two women, were killed when Russian jets pounded Hasarat crossing at Euphrates River in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor.
Five more people, including 3 women and a child girl, were also killed in al-Jerthi and Abu Hardoub villages east of al-Mayadeen city, al-Jaber told Zaman al-Wasl.
The regime forces and allied militias on Thursday took al-Quriya town, one of last ISIS strongholds in eastern Syria.
ISIS fighters fled to al-Ishara town in the eastern bank of Euphrates River.
At least 160 militants from the paramilitary National Defense Units arrived in Deir Ezzor province last Tuesday to join fighting against the Islamic State.
The reinforcement comes as regime forces seek to uproot ISIS from its last pockets in Deir Ezzor after the capture of Albu Kamal town which has changed hands several times.
A string of territorial defeats across northern and eastern Syria had left Albu Kamal as the last significant Syrian town held by ISIS.
In its turn, the Russian Tu-22M3 long-haul bombers on Thursday hit ISIS targets in in Deir Ezzor, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.
The bombers provided backing to regime troops conducting an offensive on ISIS positions, TASS agency said.
The planes took off from an airfield in Russia and covered a distance of more than 2,000km to deliver a strike on terrorists’ strongholds near the settlement of Al-Katia. Su-24 bombers that had taken off from the Hmeimim air base in Latakia delivered pinpoint strikes on scattered facilities, the ministry said. Su-30SM and Su-35S fighter jets based at Hmeimim provided backing for the bombers.
Zaman A Wasl
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