Russian planes ready to deliver strikes on militants moving into Syria from Iraq - general

MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Russian warplanes are ready at any moment to deliver strikes against militants moving into Syria from Iraq, Head of the Main Operations Department at Russia’s General Staff Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoi said on Tuesday. "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. As was reported earlier, the ground operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from militants of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) was launched in the morning of October 17. Apart from the Iraqi government troops, the operation involves Kurdish formations, as well as the international anti-terror coalition. Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city with a population of over 1.3 million, has been under the IS’ control for over two years. Read more