Russian Submarine Attacks al-Nusra Front With Kalibr Missiles in Syria's Idlib

On Friday the Russian Black Sea fleet's submarine, 'Veliky Novgorod' launched Kalibr cruise missiles against terrorist targets in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The attack from a submerged position came in the wake of an al-Nusra Front terrorist offensive in the Idlib Province where a Russian military police unit was surrounded.

"The missile strike destroyed important command centers, training bases and armored vehicles of the terrorists who tried to capture 29 Russian military policemen in the north of the Hama Province," the ministry's statement said. "The targets included strongholds, militants and armored vehicles, as well as ammunition depots belonging to al-Nusra Front in the Idlib Province. The distance of the strike was nearly 300 kilometers."

Reconnaissance confirmed the successful destruction of all targets.

On September 20, the Russian General Staff said the police unit was encircled  and repelled the terrorists’ attacks for several hours until Russian Spetsnaz and Syrian Special Ops units, backed by Su-25 strike fighters, came to the rescue breaking the enemy siege. The Staff said the attack was "initiated by US secret services to stop the successful advance of government troops to the east of Deir ez-Zor." Washington, however, has denied the allegations.

After the attack in Idlib was repelled, the Syrian Army, supported by Russian warplanes, launched a counterattack and almost completely reclaimed their positions in the de-escalation zone. Three servicemen were wounded in the attack. According to the Russian military, a total of 187 terrorist targets were hit by airstrikes and artillery fire and about 850 terrorists were destroyed.