"The Russian aircraft performed 1,760 sorties and delivered 5,682 strikes against terrorists’ infrastructure. They destroyed 40 training camps, 475 command posts, ammunition production facilities and workshops, 2,000 pieces of terrorists’ military hardware, 3,119 militants and 26 field commanders," the defense minister said.

MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Russian warplanes have made more than 1,700 sorties in Syria and delivered over 5,600 strikes on terrorists’ infrastructure in that country since the start of this year, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in the lower house of Russia’s parliament on Wednesday.

This year, a large grouping of the Islamic State terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) has been routed north of Aleppo in Syria, Shoigu said.

"The government troops have established control of 41 communities in that area. This year alone, 1,780 square kilometers of the Syrian territory and 53 populated areas have been liberated from militants," the defense minister said.

Special operations groups and special forces teams have demonstrated their high efficiency in Syria, Shoigu said.

"They are playing a key role in liquidating terrorists’ chieftains, destroying the enemy’s critically important facilities and adjusting our aircraft’s strikes," the defense minister said.

Also, two military police battalions are operating in Syria, he added.

"The ceasefire that was introduced on December 30 [2016] and remains on the entire territory of Syria has actually helped stop the civil war and switch to the joint struggle against terrorists," the Russian defense minister said.