At least 1,000 Islamic State militants were either killed or wounded during the operation, according to the Russian General Staff

MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. Russia’s Aerospace Force has destroyed almost 300 facilities of the Islamic State terror group near the city of al-Bab, Head of the Main Operations Department at Russia’s General Staff, Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoi said on Friday.

"The offensive launched by the Syrian government troops east of al-Bab has been advancing," he added. "In the past ten days, a total of 36 settlements, located in an area of 400 square kilometers, have been liberated. The Russian Aerospace Force has destroyed 278 facilities of the Islamic State, including warehouses and strongholds, as well as military hardware convoys and militant groups." "Over the past month, the Syrian troops liberated 52 settlements and drove militants out of an area totaling 1,702 square kilometers. This was made possible thanks to the activities of the Russian Aerospace Force. In the past month, our war planes conducted 991 combat flights destroying 2,300 terrorist facilities," the general added. Successful operation Special Operations forces and Russian Aerospace Force have turned the tide leading to the defeat of Islamic State militants in Palmyra, Rudskoi has noted.

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"Russian aviation and Special Operations forces have made a considerable contribution to the defeat of ISIS [former name of Islamic State, the terrorist group banned in Russia - TASS] near Palmyra," Rudskoi said. At least 1,000 Islamic State militants were either killed or wounded in the operation: "Success has been achieved in Palmyra despite the fact that the number of militants had been growing as IS members were leaving Mosul and Raqqa. However, this did not help the international coalition to achieve the goals set last year," Rudskoi stressed. "As many as 19 tanks were destroyed along with 37 infantry fighting vehicles, 98 pick-up trucks with installed heavy weaponry and over 100 other vehicles," he added. The ancient city of Palmyra The Syrian government troops are continuing their advance in the eastern part of the country.

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