Russian Bombers Use Iran Base for Mission Against ISIS in Syria

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MOSCOW — Russian bombers took off from a base in Iran to conduct airstrikes in against ISIS in Syria on Tuesday, officials said, marking a new development in the country's civil war. It was the first time Russia used the territory of another Middle Eastern country for its operations inside Syria in support of President Bashar Assad.

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Russia's defense ministry said Tu-22M3 and Su-34 bombers took off on raids targeting ISIS and allied Nusra Front militants in Aleppo, Deir el-Zor and Idlib — destroying five major ammunition depots, training camps and three command posts. The airstrikes also hit "numerous militants," it said in a statement. The jets took off "with a full bomb load" from the Hamadan base and were protected by Su-30sm and Su-35s military airplanes, the statement added. Iran's state-run news agency IRNA on Tuesday quoted Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as saying that Tehran and Moscow will share "facilities and capacities" in the fight against ISIS.

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