Make no mistake, the Russian campaign against anti-Assad elements operating in Syria was what you might call “relentless” right from the very beginning.
From the time a Russian three star general strolled into the US embassy in Baghdad on September 30 and told whoever was there that airstrikes in Syria “start in 1 hour, stay out of the way”, Moscow has bombed militant targets day and night in hundreds upon hundreds of strikes using Su-34s, Su-25s and Su-24Ms to wreak havoc on anything that even looks like a rebel.
But as ruthless as the air campaign already was, the downing of a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai Peninsula by Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate made the situation immeasurably worse (if you’re a militant) and as we noted on Wednesday, The Kremlin has now sent in the strategic bombers.
Tupolev Tu-95 Bear
Tu-22 Blinder
Tu-160 Blackjack
In addition to the deployment of the strategic bomber fleet - which Moscow says will allow Russia to double the number of strikes it can launch - The Kremlin is also stepping up sea-based cruise missle attacks from the Caspian fleet.
As RT reports, "the Russian military has launched cruise missiles against Islamic State positions in Syria from both the Mediterranean and Caspian seas, one of which killed over 600 terrorists in the Deir Ex-Zor Province, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has said." Here's more:
“On November 20, the warships of the Caspian Fleet launched 18 cruise missiles at seven targets in the provinces of Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo. All targets were hit successfully,” he reported to President Vladimir Putin.
Overall, there are 10 warships taking part in the operation, six of which are in the Mediterranean.
Over the past four days, Russian air forces have conducted 522 sorties, deploying more than 100 cruise missiles and 1,400 tons of bombs of various types, the minister stated.
He added that a strike on a target in Deir ez-Zor utilizing multiple cruise missiles had killed more than 600 militants.
Note that Paris attack mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud was Emir of War in Deir ez-Zor.
Having thus set the stage, we bring you a buffet of new footage showing all three strategic bomber variants in action as well as footage of the cruise missile strikes.
Bonus: the following clips purport to show the missiles hitting Idlib...