Damascus, November 21 (RHC)-- The Syrian Air Force has conducted 114 sorties in less than a week, destroying some 450 terrorist targets in seven provinces, an army spokesperson says.  "Since November 15, the Syrian Air Force has carried out 114 sorties and destroyed 447 targets in Damascus, Homs, Hama, Idlib, Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor and Lattakia provinces," Syrian army spokesperson Brigadier General Ali Mayhoub told reporters on Friday.
 
In the ground battle, too, Syrian forces have recently been making rapid advances against terrorists in several parts of the country under Russian air cover, which began on September 30th at the request of Damascus.
 
Mayhoub also said Russia's airstrikes have been successful in weakening terrorist groups operating in Syria.  "We have plenty of evidence of the effectiveness of the Russian airstrikes. Massive airstrikes of the Russian aviation have caused irreversible damage to the international terrorist organizations in Syria."  
 
The Syrian army spokesman went on to say that Syrian soldiers continue to advance towards the town of Mahin in the central province of Homs after establishing control over surrounding villages and killing many Daesh terrorists.
 
The crisis in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has claimed the lives of over 250,000 people so far and displaced nearly half of the country's population of about 23 million.