Putin hits ISIS where it hurts

On Tuesday alone, the day Russia confirmed a terrorist attack caused the downing of a passenger jet in Egypt, it hit 206 targets a defence ministry source told RT. France meanwhile said it had destroyed 35 targets since the terrorist attack.

As well as flying from an airfield near Latakia, they also flew strategic bombers from Russian territory.

Moscow announced last night that its warplanes are hunting ISIS oil tanker trucks in Syria.

Russia’s increased involvement comes after admitting a 'terrorist attack' brought down a Russian passenger jet over Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board.

Those deaths and the shootings and suicide bombings in Paris on Friday which killed 129 people were claimed by ISIS, and in retaliation joint Russian and French raids have struck arms depots, barracks and other areas in Raqqa city, the jihadists' stronghold in northern Syria.

Russia has announced that its air force has so far destroyed around 500 fuel trucks in the past few days as they transport oil from Syria to refineries in Iraq in what is a key part of ISIS financing.

Last month it was revealed ISIS is still making more than £320million a year from oil, despite the US-led bombing campaign which was meant to break up the insurgency.

'This is where we must hit Daesh, in its lifeblood,' said French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, using the Arabic acronym for the group. 

Despite their diametrically opposed stances on Assad, France and Russia agreed to coordinate their military and security services to fight ISIS after the attacks in Paris and the downing of the Russian airliner. 

The vast wealth generated by oil fields, power plants, extortion, taxes, and the pillaging of antiquities means ISIS is the most well-funded terrorist group in history, experts have warned.

Figures from oil workers in Syria and Iraq along with Western intelligence estimates suggest up to 40,000 barrels are being produced every day in ISIS-held territory. 

This wealth has allowed the group to flourish regionally and internationally, and presents a unique challenge for world leaders attempting to suppress the bloodthirsty jihadis. 

 A US-led air coalition began targeting ISIS in both Iraq and Syria, with French strikes on the latter beginning in September. Moscow launched its own air war in Syria, in coordination with President Bashar al-Assad, on September 30.

US President Barack Obama praised Russia as a 'constructive partner' in international talks in Vienna aimed at reaching a solution to Syria's bloody conflict, which has cost 250,000 lives.

The US and France have been firm backers of Syria's uprising, while Russia and Iran remain staunch allies of Assad.

In October MailOnline reported on the uneasy alliance between ISIS and the Assad regime when it comes to providing energy to Syria.

It has was claimed terrified staff are forced to work in Islamist-held electricity plants. Syrian engineers have reported seeing their colleagues beaten and even killed after being assigned to ISIS-controlled gas plants that produce most of the country's power.

A number of the facilities have essentially become 'joint ventures' between Assad and the militants - despite the two sides being locked in a civil war.

According to the Financial Times, one state employee - giving the false name of Ahmed to preserve his anonymity - told how he 'didn't have a choice' over his year-long assignment at the ISIS-held Tuweinan gas plant.

The 25-year-old told the newspaper how workers were often beaten and that on one occasion he watched a colleague being executed - but that he had no other work opportunities.

He said: 'The worse part is knowing that once you're there you belong to no one. To both the regime and to ISIS, you become untrustworthy.'

Both ISIS - which controls eight of the nation's power plants - and Assad's regime rely on the gas that provides 90 per cent of the country's electricity.

Government-run firms have staff trained to run the facilities and supporters of the regime say the deals are necessary to maintain the country's infrastructure. Energy from the Tuweinan plant is reportedly divided up between ISIS and the regime.

One energy company boss likened the situation to 1920s Chicago with 'mafia-style negotiations' between the two sides.

According to the Financial Times, Syria's Ministry of Oil and Natural Resources said in a statement: 'There is no coordination with the terrorist groups regarding this matter.'

But the statement reportedly acknowledges that some engineers worked under ISIS 'for the sake of preserving the security and safety of these facilities.'

The newspaper reports that ISIS enforcers patrol the Tuweinan plant and any workers found to be breaking strict Islamic rule is given 75 lashes.

There are reports of some employees being threatened with guns and knives and that the popular operations director was executed in front of his staff having been accused of 'being a loyalist of the regime'.

(dailymail.co.uk)