Russian Su-25 attack aircraft take off from the Khmeimim airbase in Syria © Dmitriy Vinogradov / Sputnik
On August 10, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) carried out a series of airstrikes on hideout of ISIS cells in Syria’s central region.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 13 airstrikes targeted caves in the outskirts of the town of Resafa in the southern Raqqa countryside, where ISIS terrorists have been taking shelter. The London-based monitoring group didn’t report any casualties as a result of the strikes.
The airstrikes were likely a response to an attack by ISIS cells in the southern Raqqa countryside that took place on August 7. The attack targeted a vehicle of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) to the west of Tabqah Air Base. ISIS’s official news agency, Amaq, claimed that four service members were killed in the attack.
Over the last few months, the southern Raqqa countryside became the main stronghold of ISIS cells in all of central Syria.
Between June and July, the SAA and the VKS killed more than 20 terrorists of ISIS during operations in the southern countryside of Raqqa. This was not apparently enough to keep the terrorist group away from the area for too long.
ISIS cells are likely trying to maintain a strong presence in the southern Raqqa countryside because of its proximity to Syria’s northeastern region, where the terrorist group presence is the strongest. The terrorists may be surviving off support provided by their comrades in areas held by the US-led coalition and its proxy, the Syrian Democratic Forces.
