Syria says it has received advanced military aircraft from Russia for its battle against the Daesh Takfiri terrorists who are wreaking havoc in the war-torn country.

The air force has “taken delivery of at least five fighter planes from Moscow as well as reconnaissance aircraft which allow us to identify targets with great accuracy,” a senior Syrian military official said on Tuesday.

The official added that Syria has also received “sophisticated military equipment” such as targeting equipment and precision-guided missiles. He also said the new arms have been put to use in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqah in the battle against Daesh.

"Russian weapons are starting to have an effect in Syria," the official stated.

Syrian infantry units are now receiving precise satellite imagery of Takfiri positions thanks to the new equipment, another official said.

According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, around 38 Takfiri militants were killed in airstrikes in the ancient city of Palmyra, located 215 kilometers (133 miles) northeast of the capital Damascus and two other towns on Monday.

“The number of raids is growing and the strikes are more precise after the Syrian air force received arms and more efficient planes from Moscow,” said the UK-based monitoring group’s director Rami Abdel Rahman.

The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria has reportedly claimed about 250,000 lives since March 2011.

The United Nations says the militancy has displaced more than 7.6 million Syrians internally, and over four million others have fled the country to take refuge in neighboring states, including Jordan and Lebanon.

Latest UN diplomatic efforts

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed the heads of four groups tasked with resolving the crisis in Syria.

"It is hoped that their outcomes could eventually set the stage for a Syrian agreement to end the conflict,” said UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura.

De Mistura (seen below) first brought up the concept of working groups in July, stating they could help reach a "Syrian-owned framework document."

“The working groups are intended to provide Syrians with a platform to address in-depth themes that are certainly not new but have lacked to date sustained intra-Syrian discussion," said a statement from De Mistura's office.