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The Russian fleet in the Caspian Sea has launched 18 cruise missiles, hitting seven terrorist targets in Syria on Friday, Russian Defense Minster Sergey Shoigu has reported to President Vladimir Putin.

“On November 20, the warships of the Caspian Fleet launched 18 cruise missiles at seven targets in the provinces of Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo. All targets were hit successfully,” he said.

The last time the Caspian Fleet took part in the anti-terror operation in Syria was on October 7.

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) are suffering huge losses as a result of the Russian offensive, Shoigu said, adding that data on the ground shows that the flow of terrorists arriving in Syria has decreased, while more and more militants are fleeing the warzone to head north and south-west.

Over the past four days, Russian air forces have conducted 522 sorties, deploying more than 100 cruise missiles and 1,400 tons of bombs of various types, the minister stated.

He added that a strike with multiple cruise missiles in the province of Deir ez-Zor had killed more than 600 militants.

Shoigu stressed that the number of aircraft taking part in the operation has been doubled and now consists of 69 jets conducting 143 sorties on a daily basis.

He also added that the Russian military has started cooperating with its French counterparts, as ordered by President Putin.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry have talked by phone to discuss the need for joint efforts to combat Islamic State in Syria. The pair also discussed the need for talks between Damascus and the Syrian opposition, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.