"The Russian air force has increased the intensity of its strikes against targets of the armed units of international terrorist organizations near the city of Palmyra," it said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.
"Since July 12, Russian air force planes have conducted more than 50 strikes against Daesh personnel and materiel in this area,” it added.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has furthermore displaced over half of Syria’s pre-war population of about 23 million.