The actions of the Russian Air Forces in Syria are effective and have a positive impact on the fight against Daesh in Iraq, Joint Commander of the Iraqi Armed Forces Yahya Rasool Abdullah told Sputnik.

The Syrian army with�the aid of�the Russian air force has managed to�destroy the main stronghold of�the terrorists in�the province of�Latakia in�Salma city situated on�the border with�Turkey and in�the town of�Sheikh Miskin and Osman in�the south.

A four year blockade was lifted in�the province of�Aleppo where two Shiite cities of�Noubel and az-Zahra were freed on�Thursday. The�offensive�is under�way in�the suburbs of�Damascus as�well.
�Russian strikes are playing an effective role in�the destruction of�terrorist groups in�Syria, and we know how many terrorists come out�of Raqqa, the so-called Daesh capital of�Syria. Attacks on�critical command centers have reflected positively on�the military operations in�Iraq as�well,� the commander said.


Rasul also mentioned the�positive support�from�the international coalition led by�the US in�spying and investigating, as�well as�support provided from�a joint information center of�Iraq, Syria, Iran and Russia situated in�Baghdad.

Commenting on�the possibility of�expanding cooperation with�the Russian Federation, representatives of�the Armed Forces said that Iraq is open to�support from�all of�the interested parties.
�We have a lot of�contracts for�the supply of�arms and equipment with�Russia. We need support of�all in�the fight against�terrorism�because Iraq represents the whole world in�fight with�them,� Rasool said.


On September 30, Russia at�the request of�President Bashar al-Assad in�Syria began target airstrikes on�the Daesh and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations. With the support of�the Russian aviation, government troops and patriotic opposition forces launched an offensive attack on�terrorist positions.
Just in�the last 1.5 months, according to�the General Staff of�the Russian Armed Forces in�Syria more than�150 settlements have been freed from�terror.



By Sputnik