“Due to poor weather conditions and in an attempt to avoid casualties among civilians, Russian aircraft only performed combat missions in the provinces of Latakia and Deir  ez-Zor,” Konashekov added.Over the past 24 hours, Russian Air Forces have also destroyed a field camp held by Daesh terrorists in Deir ez-Zor. The terrorists’ multiple rocket launchers, artillery and fuel storage were also destroyed by Russian jets, Konashenkov noted.

“Russian Su-34 bomber jet hit the terrorists’ field artillery in the town of Meshiya, in Deir ez-Zor province. Surveillance confirmed the destruction of three artillery systems,” the Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman told journalists.

Also, according to Konashenkov, Russian aircraft bombed enemy rocket artillery positions and a fuel depot in the vicinity of the village of Bgelia in Deir ez-Zor province. “Surveillance confirmed the destruction of two rocket artillery systems as well as detonation of the fuel stored at the facility,” he said.

“A Daesh field training camp in the vicinity of the village of Mreya in Deir ez Zor province was bombed. A militants’ command post and barracks located on the premises were obliterated by direct hits,” Konashenkov said.

The Russian group’s warplanes hit the terrorists as they fled Latakia being attacked by the Syrian Army, Konashekov said.

“Over the past 24 hours, Russian jets carried out 4 strikes on the terrorists near Jabal al-Akrad (Latakia province), who left their positions while being attacked by the Syrian Armed Forces and patriotic opposition units,” the spokesman said.

He also said that a Su-34 aircraft bombed a workshop in the vicinity of Hatla, which the militants were using to manufacture carbombs. Target data was actually provided by the Syrian opposition.

The terrorists’ workshop was completely wiped out by the airstrike, Konashenkov added.

Moreover, Russia continues to provide humanitarian aid to Syria. On January 15, Russian aircraft delivered nearly 50 tons of humanitarian aid to Deir ez-Zor, the spokesman said.

“Russian Armed Forces continue conducting a humanitarian operation aimed at delivering supplies to the civilians trapped in the regions of Syria controlled by the militants. On January 15 a cargo plane of the Syrian Air Force using Rusian P-7 platforms airdropped a total of 50 tons worth of food supplies and basic necessities to the city of Deir ez-Zor,” the general said.

He also added that another humanitarian cargo is currently being prepared for delivery to the city of Deir ez Zor which is currently being cut off by terrorists.As Konashenkov said earlier, on January 18 “over 40 tons worth of humanitarian aid were dispatched to the residents of the city of Deir ez Zor and other regions.”

Aerial support from the Russian Air Force for Syrian Arab Army troops defending eastern Syria from Daesh terrorist attacks is proving an effective tactic in an area where the US-led coalition was expected to lead efforts to eliminate the terrorist group, German Economic News (DWN) reported on Wednesday.

“It was expected that the US-led alliance will lead the fight against IS (Daesh) in the East,” DWN wrote.

“In order to capture the command center of the 137th Artillery Brigade, IS (Daesh) is increasingly relying on suicide bombings. At the weekend, IS (Daesh) began its biggest offensive on Deir-ez-Zor since December 2014.”

On Tuesday Al-Masdar News reported that Daesh had launched its fifth assault on the headquarters of the Syrian Arab Army’s 137th Artillery Brigade close to Deir-ez-Zor military airport.

“This attempted advance by the terrorist group was immediately met by fierce resistance from the Syrian Arab Army soldiers protecting this strategic base near the Deir Ezzor Military Airport,” reported Al-Masdar News.

“Yesterday, ISIS declared control over the Missile Battalion Base at the southern perimeter of the Deir Ezzor Military Airport; however, this morning, several reports from the soldiers at the airbase revealed that the terrorist group was unable to maintain their ground as a result of the powerful Russian and Syrian airstrikes around the villages of Jafra and Al-Muri’iyah.”

“Clashes are still ongoing between the Syrian Arab Army’s 104th Airborne Brigade and ISIS near the Radio Broadcast Tower in the Al-Baghayliyah District.”

Russian Warplanes Destroy Terrorists’ Oil Pumping Station in Syrian Raqqa (VIDEO)

On Tuesday Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov announced that the Russian air force had carried out 157 sorties across Syria over the previous four days, bombing 579 terrorist objects in Aleppo, Deir-ez-Zor, Homs, Hama, Raqqa and Latakia.

“Near al-Baghiliyah (Deir ez-Zor province), where the ISIS militants performed a massive execution of about 300 civilians in order to frighten citizens a day ago, a Russian Su-34 bomber made a strike on terrorists’ strong points. Direct hits caused elimination of 3 heavy vehicles with ZU-23 systems, 2 off-roaders with heavy weapons and more than 60 terrorists,” the Defense Ministry reported.

“The army headed to this region to save the population. There were clashes with ISIL (Daesh) militants, they suffered significant casualties, the rest managed to flee to the neighboring areas controlled by ISIL (Daesh),” Mohammad Qaddur Ajnyyja, governor of Deir-ez-Zor, told Sputnik.

Syrian armed forces are now in a position to expand their control over the eastern part of Hama province and eventually advance on the de facto Daesh capital of Raqqa.

On Wednesday the government troops and the popular forces managed to drive the militants from more territories in the southern part of Hama province, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy, the agency wrote.Syrian government forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, have recently been making rapid advances against the terrorists in several parts of the country destroying the terrorists’ positions in in Latakia, Homs, Damascus, Deir ez-Zor, Aleppo, Dara’a and Hama provinces.