The Russian military says its air force has struck Islamic State (IS) fighters preparing an attack on the Syrian city of Palmyra.
Russian news agencies quoted senior army official Viktor Poznikhir as saying on September 14 that the aircraft bombed the day before an area north of Palmyra where IS militants were concentrated.
Poznikhir said 250 fighters were killed and some 15 pickups with mounted machine guns and antiaircraft guns were destroyed in the strikes
He also called for a 48-hour extension of the cessation of hostilities in Syria that Moscow brokered with the United States last week.
He added that rebels had violated the cease-fire 60 times since it came into effect at sunset on September 12.
The truce does not apply to extremist groups.
