Russia announces 'record day' for Syrian air raids

Russian war planes have struck 118 "terrorist" targets in Syria over the past 24 hours in a new record, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, attributing the rise to new intelligence.

Russian jets hit 118 targets during 71 sorties over the provinces of Idlib, Homs, Hama, Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia, said the defence ministry.

It was the highest one-day tally since the Kremlin began its bombing campaign on 30 September. 

The previous record was set on Monday when Moscow said it had struck 94 "terrorist" targets in Syria.

The defence ministry released no information on Tuesday.

"The number of sorties has gone up," the ministry said in a statement.

"This is due to an increase in intelligence data," he said, adding that targets had been "confirmed via various channels".

The strikes destroyed a command post near the town of Talbisseh in Homs province which belonged to al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, said the ministry.

Among the other targets was a base in Aleppo province used to control a "terrorist" weapon supply route which was "destroyed" along with car-mounted anti-aircraft systems that were protecting it, it said.

In Idlib province, the warplanes hit a "camouflaged supply base" with munitions and materiel, which caused an explosion that also destroyed trucks parked some 500 metres away.

Moscow says its bombing campaign targets Islamic State jihadi forces and other groups it calls "terrorists". 

The United States and its allies accuse Russia of targeting Western-backed moderate rebels fighting Kremlin-backed President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

Washington has also scaled back its air raids on IS targets in Syria over the past few days.

Reports suggest that Russia could be increasing its presence in Syria after armoured vehicles and artillery were spotted passing through a town, which activists say was Latakia, the regime's heartland on the Syrian coast.

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