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Russia launched cruise missiles from their ships in the Mediterranean Sea Tuesday against the Islamic State group's stronghold of Raqqa in Syria, Le Monde reported.
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The Russian military has also conducted a number of strikes from long-range bombers, a U.S. official told Reuters. The official said Moscow notified Washington ahead of the airstrikes, complying with the agreement between the two countries regarding air safety.
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Long rang missile hit qoptan aljabal a village north west of Aleppo this morning pic.twitter.com/F1gA1YBXDL
— yasser alhaji (@yasseralhaji1)
November 17, 2015
The latest attacks come as Moscow confirmed that the Russian plane that crashed in Egypt was downed by a bomb, possibly the works of the Islamic State group. The group had claimed responsibility for the attack earlier.
OPINION: Russian Bombs, Like US Bombs, Will Not Bring Peace to Syria
"We will find them anywhere on the planet and punish them," Putin said at Kremlin meeting broadcast Tuesday following the confirmation. "Our military work in Syria must not only continue, [i]t must be strengthened in such a way so that the terrorists will understand that retribution is inevitable."
The Russian military started its operations in Syria on Sept. 30, upon the request of President Bashar Assad, and has since destroyed several command centers and targets of the Islamic State group and other terrorists group operating the war-torn nation.
The operation has also helped the Syrian army in regain control of territory that was under the control of the terrorist groups.
ANALYSIS: US Points Bloody Finger to Russian 'Intervention' in Syria
