Strategic bombers to cruise missiles: Russian Federation steps up attack on ISIS

Boris Zilberman, an expert on Russia and the Middle East at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that the points to continued military cooperation between Russia and Iran and also suggests that Russia may be launching cruise missiles into Syria from Iranian airspace.

He said Russian fighter jets have targeted Daesh-held oil installations in Dayr al-Zawr.

President Vladimir Putin said the attack had deprived IS of $1.5 million in daily income from oil sales.

Russian Federation began bombing in Syria in September at the request of its longstanding ally President Bashar al-Assad.

Moscow says the campaign is aimed at helping the Syrian army in its anti-terror fight and also preventing the return of more than 2,000 Russian nationals who have joined Daesh ranks in Syria.

In its bombing campaign, Moscow has twice fired salvoes of cruise missiles from warships in the Caspian Sea that passed over northern Iraq en route to their targets in Syria, most recently on Friday.

France has called for Assad to step down after a political transition, and its Western allies have criticised Moscow for mostly focusing its raids in Syria against Western-backed rebel groups.

The Russian Federation has given the United States advance notice before it conducted air strikes in Syria at least three times since last week's attacks in Paris, a USA official said on Friday.

Experts are suggesting the escalation of attacks is Russia's promised retaliation for the downing of a Russian airliner last month in the Sinai Peninsula, which killed 224 civilians.

Russian warplanes have flown 522 sorties and destroyed over 800 targets over the last four days, according to Shoigu.

This dramatic footage shows Russian Federation firing Cruise missiles at ISIS targets in Syria from one of its navy cruisers.

Earlier this week, Masrour Barzani, the head of intelligence and security in Iraqi Kurdistan, said IS was not significantly weakened by the aerial bombardments of the US-led coalition and the Russian Federation.

After the carnage in Paris, which declared the lives of 130 people at the hands of ISIS, Putin and French Head of state Francois Hollande consented to ensure closer contact and control of their countries' operations in Syria.