The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday afternoon the start of Russian airstrikes against ISIL terrorists’ sites in Syria

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday afternoon the start of Russian airstrikes against ISIL terrorists’ sites in Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.

Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with Syrian aircraft. RT quoted the Defense Ministry as saying that several special strikes have been directed at sites for ISIL terrorist organization in several areas in Syria.

In the same context, a military source told SANA that in implementation of the agreement between Syria and Russia to combat international terrorism and eliminate ISIL, Russian aircrafts, in cooperation with the Syrian army’s Air Force, launched on Wednesday a number of airstrikes against ISIL dens in al-Rastan, Talbeisa, al-Zaafran, al-Tolol al-Humr, Aydon, Deir Fol and the area surrounding Salmia in the central region in Syria, achieving direct hits and inflicting heavy losses upon the terrorist organization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who earlier Wednesday won parliamentary permission to use force abroad, warned Russia would be hunting down ISIL militants before they target Russia.

Addressing Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Putin said: “We are counting on his active and flexible position, his readiness for compromise for the sake of his country and his people.”

He pledged that Russia would not get sucked into a protracted military operation in Syria and called on countries to join an intelligence task force Moscow is setting up with Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Russia will also present a UN draft resolution to the Security Council on countering terrorism to build up the fight against IS, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Addressing the General Assembly for the first time in a decade, Putin on Monday proposed creating a UN-backed coalition to fight the militants.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic said that Russian strikes in Syria was carried out upon a request of the Syrian state conveyed via a letter sent by Assad to Putin, and that this comes within the framework of President Putin’s initiative for combating terrorism.