Russian Federation says eliminated 600 rebels in Syria; Lavrov, Kerry hold phone talk

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says that in the Russian Defence Ministry soldiers can be seen writing messages on the bombs before loading them onto the aircraft - phrases like: "This is revenge for our dead" and "This is for Paris".

A video grab released by the Russian Defense Ministry on November 19, 2015, shows a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 turboprop-powered strategic bomber carrying out an air raid on militant positions in Syria.

The messages are in support of France after ISIS terrorists killed 130 people and wounded hundreds of others earlier this month.

On Wednesday, French President François Hollande called on world powers to put aside their "sometimes diverging interests" to form a grand coalition against the Islamic State.

Moscow fired 18 missiles from ships in its Caspian Sea fleet at seven targets in the Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo provinces, according to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Main efforts were concentrated on undermining the finance and economic capacity of the IS, which would prevent daily supplies of 60,000 tons of oil worth 1.5 million US dollars flowing to the black market, the statement added.

Russian Federation says its intervention is aimed at helping the Syrian government defeat IS, but local activists and USA officials say the strikes have also targeted Western-backed rebels fighting to overthrow Assad.

Iraq closed its northern airspace to commercial flights on Monday for at least two days due to military traffic from Russia's air campaign in neighboring Syria, a spokesman for Erbil International Airport said.

The army has made minimal progress on the ground, according to groups monitoring the war, though the Russian strikes have reportedly boosted morale among government troops and supporters.

In the wake of the bloody attacks in Paris last week - and the downing of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt's Sinai widely blamed on ISIS - American and Russian warplanes unleashed a stepped-up wave of strikes on oil infrastructure. If he backs up his word with actions, Putin's pledge could prove to be a turning point in the military campaign against ISIS in Syria.

Deir al-Zour province is also rich in oil.

One of the strikes destroyed several oil tanks controlled by ISIS on Syria.