Russian Jets Hit 12 ISIL Targets in Syria

The Sukhoi-34 jets also targeted a militant training camp - obliterating infrastructure which the ministry says was being used to prepare terrorists.

Moscow states it has carried out 18 attacks in Syria since Thursday night, with 12 of them hitting ISIL targets, The Sky News reports. 

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group close to the militant opposition groups in Syria says one Russian airstrike has killed at least 12 ISIL militants in Raqqa province.

Earlier, the group had reported that warplanes, believed to be Russian, had also targeted Qaryatain overnight - a town which lies about 80 miles northeast of Damascus.

Russian jets have mainly been bombing central and southwestern parts of Syria. Idlib has bore the brunt of the attacks, while Aleppo and Hama have also been struck.

Idlib province is controlled by a coalition of militant groups - including the Nusra Front, a terror group linked to al Qaeda.

It comes as Vladimir Putin prepares to discuss Russia's involvement in Syria's civil war with his German and French counterparts in one-on-one meetings.

On Thursday, America accused Russia of  "indiscriminate" bombing against the Syrian militants, but the Kremlin says its aim is the same as that of America: to target terrorist groups.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has admitted ISIL is not his military's only target, as other terrorist groups will also be pursued.

"If it looks like a terrorist, if it walks like a terrorist, if it acts like a terrorist, if it fights like a terrorist, it's a terrorist," he told reporters at the UN General Assembly in New York.

The Kremlin has denied reports that some of its strikes earlier in the week had killed at least 36 civilians, including five children.

Russia says it follows the international law as, unlike the US-led coalition, it began strikes after a formal request from the government in Damascus.