MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Aerospace Forces delivered over 71,000 strikes on terrorist infrastructures during the Syria campaign, Russian Armed Forces General Staff Chief Gen. of the Army Valery Gerasimov said.
"The operation of our Aerospace Forces, which began on September 30, 2015, turned the tide of the war on terrorism in the Syrian Arab Republic," Gerasimov said in a teleconference at the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday.
In that period, "large rings were defeated in the area of Hama and Homs. The province of Latakia was cleared of militants, the Damascus suburbs were practically liberated from terrorists, and the main route connecting the capital to the country's north was unblocked. The key cities of Aleppo and al-Qaryatayn were freed," he said.
"In all, 12,360 square kilometers of Syrian territory and 499 populated localities have been freed from militants," Gerasimov said.
"Since the beginning of the operation, our aircraft have performed 19,160 combat missions and have delivered more than 71,000 strikes on terrorist infrastructures. The main targets of aviation were training camps of militants, ammo plants and workshops, and illegal oil production facilities of ISIL terrorists," he said.
"More than 200 facilities of the sort, 174 oil refineries and 111 convoys of oil trucks have been destroyed," the military commander said.
"Not only was the logistics of rings [from the terrorist group ISIL banned in Russia] disrupted; they were also deprived of the primary source of revenue," he said.
"All the strikes are delivered exclusively upon confirmation of data coming from several sources, including space surveillance and drones," Gerasimov said.