Russia obliterates ISIL stronghold during massive aerial attack

Russian long-range bombers have obliterated an ISIL weapon stores at a jihadist stronghold in Syria.

The Defence ministry in Moscow said the Russian Tupolev bombers carried out raids to the southwest, east and northeast of the city of Deir Ezzor, wiping out two command posts, six arms depots, IS vehicles and "a large number of fighters".

"[The bombers] which took off from a Russian air base have conducted a concentrated airstrike with high-explosive munitions on IS in areas located southwest, east, and northeast of the city of Deir ez-Zor," the ministry said in a statement.

To reinforce its efforts against ISIL, the Russian government released footage of the attack taken from various different angles, including a video of the heavy ordnance falling from one of the bombers.

IS controls large parts of Deir Ezzor city and most of oil-rich Deir Ezzor province in the east of the country, and has battled Syrian regime forces for control of a key military airbase there.

Russia has been flying a bombing campaign in support of long-time ally President Bashar Al-Assad since September that has helped the strongman's crumbling forces.

IS militants were forced out of the city of Manbij near the Turkish border on Friday by a US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance in a blow the Pentagon said showed the extremists were "on the ropes".

Russian-backed government forces are also battling other rebels groups in fierce fighting for the country's second city of Aleppo, a fortnight on from the launch of a major rebel offensive.