Russia refutes accusation of "zero" effort in fighting IS

The Russian military released a slew of facts and figures Tuesday in response to an accusation by U.S. Pentagon chief that Russia made "virtually zero" effort to combat the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria.

The Russian air force in Syria has conducted 19,160 sorties, delivering over 71,000 strikes since the start of an anti-terrorist operation on Sept. 30, 2015, said Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff.

"The main targets of our warplanes were militant's training camps, ammunition factories and workshops, as well as illegal oil production facilities of IS terrorists," he said at a Defense Ministry teleconference.

He said the operation helped reverse the course of the struggle against terrorism in Syria, by breaking its supply system and cutting off its main source of revenue.

On the contrary, the U.S.-led anti-terrorist coalition delivered only 6,500 strikes in the last two and a half years without producing any significant results, only inflicting huge casualties among civilians, Gerasimov said.

Outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a recent interview with NBC News that Russia's efforts fighting IS in Syria were equal to "virtually zero."

Source:Xinhua