Russian Warplanes Support Syrian Army Advance in Mountainous N Latakia

The Syrian army has reportedly driven Daesh militants out of more areas in Syria's north-western province of Latakia.

Islamic fundamentalist militants have been driven out of more areas in Latakia province in north-western Syria, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.

"The Syrian army alongside the National Defense Forces (NDF) launched massive operations in the mountainous regions of Northern Lattakia, and completed their control over vast territories after killing or wounding scores of militants," FARS quoted sources as saying.

The army's new offensive came after the government troops, supported by Russian airstrikes, completed control over Jabal al-Nuba (al-Nuba Mountains) and Jabal Sheikh al-Sayyid near the border with Turkey.

#SYRIA On Dec 18-23, Russian aircraft have performed 302 combat sorties engaging 1093 terrorist objects pic.twitter.com/99pY6cYo3A

— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) 23 декабря 2015

Dozens of militants were killed and many more wounded in the fighting, sources said.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Syrian forces continued their military operations to regain control of Salma, a key city in Latakia, from Islamist militants.

#PHOTO Everyday life of the Russian air group at #Hmeymim airfield in #SYRIA https://t.co/6YnOlPOjsl pic.twitter.com/UamVvjecyz

— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) 22 декабря 2015

In another development, the Russian fighter jets launched a series of air raids on Daesh militants' strongholds in several areas across Latakia.

In particular, the Russian warplanes targeted terrorists' positions in the mountain of al-Nuba and the city of Salma in Latakia's northern countryside.

#SYRIA #VIDEO Airstrike on an #ISIS column of tanker trucks (#Aleppo province) https://t.co/tpNRQThpXP

— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) 23 декабря 2015

According to sources, defense lines of Daesh militants in a region between al-Koz and al-Aswad al-Kabir mountains were massively stormed by the Syrian government forces, who pushed back the terrorists from their positions and regained a whole array of strategic heights.

The Russian air campaign was launched on September 30, when more than fifty Russian warplanes, including the Su-24M, the Su-25 and the Su-34, commenced precision airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria at the behest of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Earlier that day, the Russian upper house of parliament unanimously supported the request of President Vladimir Putin to deploy units of the Russian Aerospace Forces abroad. Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad confirmed that Syrian Army strikes, supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces, were carried out against armed terrorist organizations, not political opposition factions or civilians.