Russia Prepares Major ISIS Assault In Raqqa

Russia have announced plans to launch an attack on ISIS at their de facto capital Raqqa alongside the Syrian Army.

Russia’s envoy to the UN office in Geneva, Aleksey Borodavkin, announced the plans, saying that it is imperative the fight against ISIS/ISIL doesn’t lose its momentum.

“This is what the Syrian Army is doing with support from the Russian Air Force. As a result of these actions, Palmyra has been recaptured and now they are planning to launch an operation towards Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa. Fighting is taking place against groups like Al-Nusra Front in Aleppo and a few other places,” Borodavkin said.

RT.com reports:

Deir ee-Zor is located in the north east of Syria and has been under IS control for months.

It is an important location for the terrorist organization, due to the number of oil fields in its vicinity.

In January, the Russian Defense Ministry said that around 2,000 IS fighters had been deployed to the area, due to its important strategic location, citing data received from Syrian opposition.

The Russian Air Force has carried out a number of sorties in the Deir ez-Zor region, with all jihadist targets, which had been reconfirmed via a number of channels, as well as through drone surveillance and cooperation with the Syrian opposition, being successfully hit.