Rudskoy: ISIS Militants Moving from Mosul to Eastern Syria

PRESS RELEASE

Rudskoy: ISIS Militants Moving from Mosul to Eastern Syria

Oct. 26, 2016 (EIRNS)—Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, the chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff, delivered a briefing yesterday, in which he reported that Russian warplanes are ready at any moment to deliver strikes against ISIS militants moving into Syria from Iraq.

"The Russian Aerospace Force is monitoring the situation in the area of the Syrian-Iraqi border day and night with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles and other reconnaissance means. Russian planes are on patrol missions in the airspace and are ready to immediately deliver strikes against terrorists,"

the general said. According to Rudskoy, the members of the Islamic State terrorist group continue moving from Iraq to Syria, while around 300 terrorists have already arrived in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor from Iraq’s Mosul.

With respect to Aleppo, Rudskoy said that Russia is ready to re-introduce humanitarian pauses on short notice, "but only if there is reliable information the sick, the injured, and civilians are ready for evacuation," he said.

"The terrorists have been doing their utmost to prevent civilians and militants to leave eastern Aleppo. Humanitarian corridors that civilians might use remain blocked and all those who try to leave Aleppo come under sniper fire,"

Rudskoy said.

He said that Russian and Syrian planes have not flown over Aleppo since Oct. 18, and are keeping out of a 10-km zone around the city. Over the three days the humanitarian pauses were effective (last week), militants bombarded residential areas in the western part of Aleppo (held by the government army) 52 times, killing 14 civilians and injuring 50 others. In 15 cases fire was opened against the humanitarian corridors, Russian military sources said.