Russia, Syria smash militant command center In Idlib

“A joint airstrike launched by the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Air Forces destroyed a headquarters of Al-Nusra Front (banned in Russia) near the city of Idlib. It was run by people responsible for plotting and conducting terror attacks against Syrian government forces and civilians,” Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit said.

The deputy head of the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation told a news briefing that Al-Nusra attacked the neighboring Aleppo province for times in the past 24 hours. A strike at a car killed a Syrian serviceman and injured four others, he added.

Russia is a key supporter of Syria, having sent its warplanes in 2015 to aid Damascus in its war against militant groups. Moscow maintains an air force base in the Middle East nation and regularly holds joint military exercises with the host country.

The US occupies part of Syria, claiming that its military presence is necessary to keep the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS or ISIL) in check. Washington directly supported some anti-government forces during the lengthy war and has imposed harsh economic sanctions on the government, hampering reconstruction efforts by Damascus.