Russia, Turkey carry out joint bombings in Syria

Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Russia and Turkey have carried out their first joint coordinated airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria, Russian Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said.

Rudskoy said the airstrikes on Wednesday were approved ahead of time by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. The airstrikes were conducted in the northern Syrian city of al-Bab in the province of Aleppo.

"The operation approved by the Syrian authorities involved 9 Russian aircraft and 8 Turkish ones," Rudskoy said in a statement, adding that 36 Islamic State targets were destroyed.

Rudskoy said the joint operation "showed high effectiveness."

Moscow and Ankara have worked together to target Islamic State militants though they support opposing sides in Syria's nearly six-year civil war.

Russia backs Assad, while Turkey backs Syrian rebel groups such as the Free Syrian Army.

Russia began carrying out airstrikes in Syria to support Assad in September 2015. Russian airstrikes have targeted the Islamic State as well as Syrian rebels who oppose Assad's regime, which considers all rebels to be terrorists.

Russia said it signed a memorandum with Turkey on Jan. 12 to prevent "incidents" occurring in Syria's crowded skies.

"The document was created to carry out joint operations ... in Syria to destroy international terrorist groups," Russia said in a statement.