Russia says jets from its aircraft carrier have launched their first strikes on Syria.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Russian Air Force started a "major operation" on November 15 against positions of the Islamic State group and the former Al-Qaeda branch in the Idlib and Homs provinces.
"For the first time in our naval history, the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov started taking part in combat," Shoigu also said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
The warship was deployed in the eastern Mediterranean last month.
Meanwhile, air strikes hit rebel-held areas in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo for the first time in three weeks.
Syrian state television and activists reported that the strikes were conducted by Syria's air force.
Russia has been carrying out air strikes in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces for more than a year.
