The recent arrival of the Russian military advisors has found the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) specifically concentrated on the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham’s (ISIS) positions in the eastern Syrian provinces of Deir Ezzor, Al-Hasakah, Homs, and Al-Raqqa.
On Wednesday morning, the Syrian Air Force launched a series of airstrikes above the Al-Raqqa Governorate that targeted ISIS’ supply route from the aforementioned province to the Deir Ezzor Governorate; this supply route is considered ISIS’ lifeline in both Iraq and Syria due to the long highway that stretches from Al-Raqqa to the Iraqi Al-‘Anbar Governorate.
The specific locations the Syrian Air Force targeted in Al-Raqqa were the Azeri Battalion Camp, Al-Khasna Battalion Camp, New Hisbah Headquarters, ISIS Shari’ah Courts, Al-Takhfeekh Repository, and a large weapons supply depot; these coordinates were all provided by the Russian military advisors, as they shared satellite imagery to reveal ISIS’ locations.
According to a field report from a senior officer in the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the airstrikes have done significant damage to ISIS’ positions in Al-Raqqa; this includes the death of over 140 members of the terrorist group, including the field commander of the Azeri Battalion, “Abu Dawoud Al-Azerbaijani.”
The primary objective of these airstrikes is to forestall ISIS’ movements along the Syrian and Iraqi border, while also attacking their large convoy of reinforcements to their embattled comrades at a number of battlefields.
