'This is for Paris': Russian pilots write messages of support for terror victims on their bombs before launching latest air raids and cruise missile strikes against ISIS 

  • Russia pilots wrote messages of revenge for Paris victims on Syria bombs
  • They scrawled 'For Paris' and 'For ours' on missiles heading to Syria
  • Moscow fired 18 missiles from its ships in Caspian Sea at war-torn country
  • Targets included seven areas in Syria's Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo provinces
  • See the latest news on Russian military action in Syria  

Russian military are inscribing ‘For Paris’ on bombs destined for targets in Syria, in solidarity with the victims of the attacks in the French capital.

A video posted online today by the Defence Minister also shows a member of ground crew writing ‘For Ours’ on a bomb at Russia’s Hmeymim airbase.

‘Pilots and technicians of Hmeymim airbase have sent their message to terrorists by priority airmail,’ said a caption accompanying the post. 

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Solidarity: A Russian ground crew member writes 'For Paris' on the side of a bomb destined for Syria

Solidarity: A Russian ground crew member writes 'For Paris' on the side of a bomb destined for Syria

Revenge: Video posted online by the Russian Defence Ministry also shows a message being written by an air force technician saying 'For Ours'

Revenge: Video posted online by the Russian Defence Ministry also shows a message being written by an air force technician saying 'For Ours'

Russia also unleashed cruise missiles from warships in the Caspian Sea at targets across Syria, as Moscow kept up its intensified bombardments in the already war-torn country.  

Moscow fired 18 missiles from ships in its Caspian Sea fleet at seven targets in the Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo provinces, according to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

It was the second time that warships have been used since the start of the bombing campaign on September 30.

Moscow has stepped up its strikes in Syria with long-distance bombers after confirming for the first time on Tuesday that a bomb downed a Russian airliner in Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board. 

Assault: A caption accompanying the post said that 'pilots and technicians of Hmeymim airbase have sent their message to terrorists by priority airmail'. Pictured, the phrase 'For Paris' written on a bomb attached to a Russian war plane

Assault: A caption accompanying the post said that 'pilots and technicians of Hmeymim airbase have sent their message to terrorists by priority airmail'. Pictured, the phrase 'For Paris' written on a bomb attached to a Russian war plane

President Vladimir Putin was told in a briefing by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu  that cruise missile strikes against one target near the ISIS-controlled city of Deir Ezzor had killed 'more than 600 fighters'. 

But it was not specified when the strike had taken place. 

Minister Shoigu also told President Putin that Russian planes destroyed 15 oil refining and storage facilities in Syria and 525 trucks carrying oil during this week’s bombing blitz.

He said this deprived ISIS of $1.5million (£990,000) in daily income from oil sales.  

At least eight people were killed in at least 50 air strikes in the eastern Deir Ezzor province today, during which dozens of oil tankers were destroyed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. 

Target: President Vladimir Putin (pictured) was told in a briefing that strikes near the ISIS-controlled city of Deir Ezzor had killed 'more than 600 fighters'

Target: President Vladimir Putin (pictured) was told in a briefing that strikes near the ISIS-controlled city of Deir Ezzor had killed 'more than 600 fighters'

Attack: Russia launched 18 missiles from ships in its Caspian Sea fleet at seven targets across Syria. Pictured, Russian navy ships launch cruise missiles at targets in Syria

Attack: Russia launched 18 missiles from ships in its Caspian Sea fleet at seven targets across Syria. Pictured, Russian navy ships launch cruise missiles at targets in Syria

Under fire: The seven selected targets included sites in Syria's Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo provinces. Pictured, a Russian Tu-160 bomber as seen from another plane during the combat mission

Under fire: The seven selected targets included sites in Syria's Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo provinces. Pictured, a Russian Tu-160 bomber as seen from another plane during the combat mission

The Britain-based Observatory said it had documented at least 50 strikes in different parts of the oil-rich province, large parts of which are controlled by ISIS.

It said dozens of oil tankers and other vehicles used for transporting crude-oil had been destroyed. 

‘This is the first time Deir Ezzor has experienced strikes of this intensity,’ the monitor said.  

Russia has also doubled the number of jets it has based in government-held territory in Syria to 69 over the past few days, Shoigu said.

Putin praised the Russian operation in Syria but said it was 'still not sufficient' to wipe out the jihadists in the country and that a 'large volume of work' lay ahead. 

Revenge: Russia has stepped up strikes on the already war-torn country after it was confirmed that a bomb downed a Russian airliner in Egypt last month, killing at 224 people on board

Revenge: Russia has stepped up strikes on the already war-torn country after it was confirmed that a bomb downed a Russian airliner in Egypt last month, killing at 224 people on board

Hit: President Putin was told in a briefing that a strike on one target killed 'more than 600 fighters'. Pictured, a Russian air force Tu-160 bomber during the air campaign

Hit: President Putin was told in a briefing that a strike on one target killed 'more than 600 fighters'. Pictured, a Russian air force Tu-160 bomber during the air campaign

Paris also launched air strikes against ISIS’s Syrian stronghold in Raqqa that week, following attacks that killed 130 people in the French capital. Pictured, a Russian Tu-160 escorted by an Su-30SM on the mission

Paris also launched air strikes against ISIS’s Syrian stronghold in Raqqa that week, following attacks that killed 130 people in the French capital. Pictured, a Russian Tu-160 escorted by an Su-30SM on the mission

More to do: Putin praised the Russian operation in Syria but said it was 'still not sufficient' to wipe out the jihadists in the country. Pictured, a Russian air force bomber Tu-95 as it launches a cruise missile at a target in Syria

More to do: Putin praised the Russian operation in Syria but said it was 'still not sufficient' to wipe out the jihadists in the country. Pictured, a Russian air force bomber Tu-95 as it launches a cruise missile at a target in Syria

Russia is bombing in Syria at the request of its longstanding ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while a US-led coalition is conducting its own air campaign against ISIS.

Russian politicians have said the Paris attack underscores the need for the West and the Kremlin to bury their differences and join forces to take on militants in Syria.  

President Putin has discussed cooperating on fighting ISIS during his meetings with President Barack Obama and other Western leaders at the sidelines of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations in Turkey this week.  

French President Francois Hollande is set to travel to Washington and Moscow next week for talks on joint military action against ISIS, and Mr Putin has already ordered the military to cooperate with the French. 

Russia’s now four-day bombing blitz against the terror group has been relentless.

Moscow flew more than 100 combat sorties on Thursday, following 126 the day before.

Colonel General Andrei Kartapolov said that Russian warplanes were focusing their strikes on the ISIS oil production and refining facilities as well as oil trucks. 

Paris also launched air strikes against ISIS’s Syrian stronghold in Raqqa this week, following attacks that killed 130 people in the French capital.  

But France was forced to dismiss Russian suggestions today that the air strikes were illegal, insisting they were ‘an appropriate and necessary riposte’ to attacks by ISIS.  

France has called for Assad to step down after a political transition, and its Western allies have criticised Moscow for mostly focusing its raids in Syria against Western-backed rebel groups. 

 

 

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