© Photo: Press service of the Russian Defense Ministry
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wesnesday that Moscow and Ankara are carrying out a joint military operation against ISIS in the Syrian province of Aleppo.
“Today, Russian and Turkish Air Forces are carrying out their first joint operation to target ISIL in the suburbs of the town of al-Bab in the Aleppo province,” Sergey Rudskoy, chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff, told journalists, adding that the joint effort has already proved successful.
Meanwhile, the Russian Aerospace Forces have been also involved in an anti-ISIS operation in the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor.
According to Rudskoy, terrorists are using their numerical superiority and are attacking army troops that are defending civilians in the city. The official emphasized that if ISIS captures the city, “a real genocide awaits its citizens.”
Rudskoy added that ISIS has redeployed forces to Deir Ezzor and Al-Bab from Iraq.
“The actions of the US-led coalition in the Iraqi city of Mosul have generally come down to squeezing major ISIL forces into eastern Syria,” he said, adding that ISIS “almost freely” deploys forces and weapons to Syria.