The Russian military said six of its long-range bombers have struck the positions of the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group in Deir el-Zour in eastern Syria on Saturday.
The report comes amid intensive fighting in Deir ez-Zor between government forces and IS that apparently seeks to capture the provincial capital.
The terrorist group controls most of the province, except for the provincial capital and a nearby airbase, and the offensive which began earlier this month is described as the group’s most intense in a year, AP reported.
The Russian Defense Ministry said six Tu-22M3 bombers flew from their base in Russia to strike IS facilities in Deir el-Zour Province on Saturday. It said they successfully hit all designated targets, including the militants’ camps, weapons locations and ammunition depots.
Russian fighter jets from Hemeimeem airbase in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia provided cover for the bombers, according to the ministry.
A large explosion rocked a camp for displaced Syrians along the Syrian-Jordanian border on Saturday, killing at least six, and wounding many others.
Near the border with Jordan, a small truck carrying blankets was detonated from afar, killing at least six civilians at the Rukban camp, including a man, his wife and two children.
Badr Abu Sultan, a resident of the Rukban camp, said the explosion occurred outside the local market.
“There was a powerful explosion at the beginning of the market,” Abu Sultan, a member of a tribal council in the camp, said.
A Jordanian military official ruled out any Jordanian was hurt in the explosion inside Syrian territory. He told the official Jordanian Petra news agency 14 wounded were admitted to the Jordanian health center at the border used to treat Syrians.
Jordan has been on edge since a car bomb attack last year launched from Rukban killed seven Jordanian border guards. Jordan then sealed the border, cutting off vital aid to 75,000 Syrians stranded in the area.
