Russia launches new wave of air raids in Syria

This image made from footage taken from Russian Defense Ministry official website on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015, shows another attack made from a fighter jet in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry says its aircraft have carried out 18 sorties in Syria in the past 24 hours, including 10 overnight in which seven sites were bombed. The annotations on the image were made by the source and indicate the center of the target, and its direction, yellow. (AP Photo/ Russian Defense Ministry Press Service) This image made from footage taken from Russian Defense Ministry official website on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015, shows another attack made from a fighter jet in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry says its aircraft have carried out 18 sorties in Syria in the past 24 hours, including 10 overnight in which seven sites were bombed. The annotations on the image were made by the source and indicate the center of the target, and its direction, yellow. (AP Photo/ Russian Defense Ministry Press Service)

By Associated Press October 3, 2015 1 min read

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) – A Syrian military official says Russian warplanes have attacked the Islamic State group in central and northern Syria.

The unnamed official was quoted Saturday by state TV as saying that the “concentrated and precise” airstrikes destroyed a command center in the central town of Latamneh and targeted positions in the northwestern areas of Jisr al-Shughour and Maaret al-Numan.

The Russian airstrikes that began Wednesday have mainly targeted central and northwestern Syria, strategic regions that are the gateway to President Bashar Assad’s strongholds in the capital, Damascus, and the coast.

Russia says it is targeting the IS group and al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate, but at least some of the strikes appear to have hit Western-backed rebel factions.