Russia: Russian General rejects western criticism of anti-ISIS bombing

A senior Russian Defense Ministry official accused the international coalition led by the US, which has been battling ISIS for over a year, of achieving little but expanding the terror group's reach, during a briefing to the press in Moscow on Thursday. Major General Igor Konashenkov asked what the result of western bombing that has been ongoing for months: “the area controlled by ISIS in Syria and Iraq only increased significantly," he concluded. Overnight Russian aircraft launched 22 sorties and attacked 27 terrorist targets according to the spokesman. Konashenkov said that “those ISIS terrorist groups that exhibit the greatest cruelty to the civilian population have been subjected to massive bombardment”.