Russian Warships in Mediterranean Fire Cruise Missiles at Syria

Two Russian ships in the Mediterranean on Friday launched long-range cruise missiles against jihadist targets in Syria as part of Moscow's bombing campaign in support of the Syrian regime, the defense ministry said.

Russia's navy fired the missiles on Friday morning in its first use of cruise missiles against Syria since December last year.

It said two of its Buyan-class corvettes including its new Zelyony Dol patrol ship staged three launches of Kalibr cruise missiles against targets in Syria linked to the former al-Nusra Front group, which has renamed itself Fateh al-Sham Front.

The defense ministry posted video footage on its YouTube page of the ships firing the missiles into a clear blue sky.

The missiles destroyed a command center and a "terrorist base" close to Daret Ezza west of Aleppo and also an arms factory making mortar munitions and a large arms storage facility in the Aleppo province, the ministry said in a statement.

Moscow said it fired the missiles on a trajectory going over uninhabited areas for safety reasons, adding that "according to objective monitoring" they destroyed the targets.

Russia dispatched the Zelyony Dol corvette, built last year, to the Mediterranean in February after it joined the Black Sea fleet based in Crimea in December.

The Russian navy used cruise missiles to strike Syria for the first time last October, launching them from the Caspian Sea, as well as in December, when they were launched from a submarine in the Mediterranean.