A top Russian commander has said that Moscow and Syrian government forces have made swift progress in the last month driving Islamic State (IS) militants from central Syria and a last major stronghold in the east.
Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi, speaking to reporters in Moscow on August 21, said Russian jets had killed an estimated 800 militants this month alone and were now making 60 to 70 flights a day to target militants heading from other areas to join the fight in the eastern stronghold of Deir el-Zour.
