Russia said Tuesday a group of its warplanes took off from an airbase in Iran to carry out airstrikes against militants in Syria.

Russian forces have been conducting airstrikes supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government since late September of last year. Tuesday marks the first time that effort has expanded outside of Syria with the Russian long-range bombers using Syrian ally Iran as a base.

Russia’s defense ministry said the strikes targeted Islamic State fighters as well as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, in Aleppo, Deir el-Zour and Idlib.

Iranian state media quoted the head of the country’s National Security Council Ali Shamkhani saying Iran and Russia have strategic cooperation in fighting terrorism in Syria and are sharing their facilities in that mission.

Russia has insisted its air campaign is focused on terrorists and not the rebels who oppose Assad, but has faced criticism from Western governments and rights groups who say that has not been the case.

The Syrian conflict began in March 2011 as peaceful protests against Assad and quickly spiraled into a civil war that the United Nations estimates has killed more than 400,000 people. Nearly 5 million people have fled the country and another 6.6 million are internally displaced, according to U.N. data.
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