Russia: Pounds hundreds more militants targets in Syria

Russia's air force struck 448 targets throughout Syria over the last three days, the defence ministry said Monday, as Moscow pushed on with its bombing campaign in the war-torn country.

The ministry said in a statement that Russian planes hit a repair workshop for armoured vehicles near Kfar Nabuda in Hama province, which belonged to Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.

Other targets said to belong to Nusra Front were a command centre in Zarbe, a training camp near Kweyris east of Aleppo and a "large munitions stockpile" near Maheen in Homs province.

The air force also said it bombed the Islamic State group's stronghold Raqa, where two more munition stockpiles were "completely destroyed."

Among other targets was a position used by Nusra Front for launching mortar attacks in Latakia and a stockpile of rockets in the mountains near Damascus kept by the Islamic State group, it said.

It added that jihadist groups have "changed their tactics" by constantly "changing the arms and munitions delivery routes" and moving at night.

The ministry claimed that some of the information on the targets had come from the "Syrian opposition" but did not specify which groups it had worked with.

Russia began its airstrikes on Syria on September 30, saying they were primarily targeting Islamic State, though the US and its allies in a separate coalition say Moscow is mainly attacking more moderate groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad's army.

Source: AFP