Russian bombers took off from a base in Iran to conduct airstrikes in against ISIS in Syria on Tuesday, officials said, marking a new development in the country’s civil war.
It was the first time Russia used the territory of another Middle Eastern country for its operations inside Syria in support of President Bashar Assad.
Russia’s defense ministry said Tu-22M3 and Su-34 bombers took off on raids targeting ISIS and allied Nusra Front militants in Aleppo, Deir el-Zor and Idlib — destroying five major ammunition depots, training camps and three command posts.
The airstrikes also hit “numerous militants,” it said in a statement.
Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA on Tuesday quoted Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, as saying that Tehran and Moscow will share “facilities and capacities” in the fight against ISIS.
Moscow and Tehran are the main international backers of Assad, with Russia supporting the regime’s forces with airstrikes, and Iran with ground troops.
Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria also have set up a joint center in Baghdad with the goal of coordinating the campaign against ISIS.
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