On Nov. 17, Russia sent at least 25 Backfire, Bear, and Blackjack bombers to attack ISIS forces,making it one of the heaviest campaigns in modern history, The Daily Beast reported.
“During a massive airstrike (Nov. 17), 14 important ISIL targets were destroyed by 34 air-launched cruise missiles,” said Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia’s general staff. “The targets destroyed include command posts that were used to coordinate ISIL activities in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, munition and supply depots in the northwestern part of Syria.”
Tupolev Tu-95 Bear
Tu-22 Blinder
Tu-160 Blackjack
Idlib and Aleppo are largely held by U.S.-backed rebels, although Russia supports Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, but the firestorm is potentially indicative of Russia’s willingness to flex its military muscle.
Russia is motivated, in part, because investigators announced that ISIS brought down Russian Metrojet 9268 last month. However, Russia will also be coordinating its attacks with France, which fell victim to an attack by ISIS last week, in the future, The New York Times reported.
President Vladimir Putin and France’s President François Hollande have spoken on the phone. They plan to meet in Moscow on Nov. 26 to coordinate their military assault on ISIS.
Sources: The Daily Beast, The New York Times