The Latest: Russia says its strikes killed 600 IS in Syria

FILE - This frame grab from a video provided by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), shows fighters from the SDF running during fighting with Islamic State group militant, in Raqqa's eastern countryside, Syria, Monday, March 6, 2017. The main U.S.-backed force fighting the Islamic State group in Syria has enough fighters to capture the extremists' de facto capital of Raqqa north of the country at a time when U.S. troops are playing a bigger role on the ground in the battle to conquer the city, a spokeswoman for the force said Friday, March 10, 2017. (Syria Democratic Forces, via AP) FILE - This frame grab from a video provided by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), shows fighters from the SDF running during fighting with Islamic State group militant, in Raqqa's eastern countryside, Syria, Monday, March 6, 2017. The main U.S.-backed force fighting the Islamic State group in Syria has enough fighters to capture the extremists' de facto capital of Raqqa north of the country at a time when U.S. troops are playing a bigger role on the ground in the battle to conquer the city, a spokeswoman for the force said Friday, March 10, 2017. (Syria Democratic Forces, via AP)

By Associated Press March 10, 2017 3 min read

BEIRUT (AP) – The Latest on the developments related to Syria’s civil war and the expected push against the Islamic State group’s main stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria (all times local):

12:30 p.m.

The Russian military says its warplanes have killed more than 600 militants in just one week while backing the Syrian army’s offensive against the Islamic State group.

Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the military’s General Staff said on Friday that Russian aircraft have carried out 452 airstrikes in support of the Syrian government forces’ push east of the city of Aleppo.

He says Russian airstrikes also destroyed 16 armored vehicles and scores of pickup trucks and other cars in the area over the past week. Rudskoi also says that Syrian government forces have recaptured 92 towns and villages across a territory of 479 square kilometers, or 185 square miles, from IS in the past week.