Russia-backed Syrian troops advance against IS

Syrian government troops supported by Russian warplanes have successfully eliminated Islamic State targets and liberated a large territory, a Russian military official said Tuesday.

"Since start of the year, 4,608 terrorist facilities have been destroyed," the chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said at a news briefing in Moscow.

He said Syrian government troops had expelled IS militants from 35 settlements in the northern province of Aleppo and liberated more than 300 square km of territory.

Russia's Tu-22M3 long-range bombers have destroyed 34 terrorist targets near the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, thus "undermining their combat readiness and demoralizing their detachments," Rudskoy said.

Russia has cut the number of airstrikes and withdrawn the majority of its troops since December when it brokered a cessation of hostilities in Syria, but Rudskoy said the country's air force will continue to support anti-terrorist missions.

Earlier on Tuesday, some media said that "what were believed to be Russian jets" killed at least 15 people and wounded many others in an offensive against the terrorist-held Syrian city of Idlib.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. General Igor Konashenkov denied the report, saying that no Russian aircraft has attacked Idlib since the beginning of 2017. Endi