Russian Missiles Attack IS Targets Near Palmyra

The Russian warships, a frigate named Admiral Essen and submarine named Krasnodar, fired Kalibr cruise missiles on combat vehicles and militants outside the Syrian city of Palmyra, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The four cruise missiles were fired from the eastern Mediterranean, it noted in a statement. The submarine fired its missiles while submerged, Russia Today reported.

According to the MoD, “[the ships] targeted an area east of Palmyra, where the militants’ heavy weaponry and manpower were located. The militants moved there from Raqqa. All targets have been destroyed,” it said.

The US and Turkish militaries received appropriate warning in advance of the missile launches through active hotlines, the ministry added.

On May 25, a large IS convoy, comprising 39 vehicles and 120 militants, was spotted outside Raqqa, a Defense Ministry source told RIA Novosti on Saturday.

“The terrorist convoy of 39 pickup trucks was detected and destroyed by the Air Force on its way to Palmyra,” the source said, adding that the vehicles were equipped with large-caliber machine guns.

The Russian Navy also fired Kalibr cruise missiles on militant positions in Syria last year. The Black Sea Fleet carried out three cruise missile strikes on terrorist targets in Syria back in August, destroying a command post and munitions production site.

The missiles, which targeted Al-Nusra Front positions, flew over unpopulated areas, the Russian military said.

In October 2015, four Russian Navy warships fired a total of 26 missiles from the Caspian Sea at IS positions in Syria. The precision weapons hit all 11 targets after flying some 1,500 kilometers, according to the military.

The defense ministry said it had worked with its partners in plotting the flight path to assure that the missiles traveled only over desolate areas and posed no danger to civilians.