Well that concludes our live updates on Russia's air strikes on targets in Syria today. You can still keep up to date with the latest developments on our website.

Russia's defence ministry is quoted as saying its jets flew about 20 missions over Syria on Wednesday, hitting eight Islamic State (IS) targets. 

According to Russian news agencies, the ministry said an IS command post and an operations centre were destroyed. It said it did not hit civilian areas.

BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford says at least 2,000 former Soviet citizens have joined the ranks of Islamic State (IS), and President Putin has made it clear that his priority is preventing them bringing their fight back home. 

However, by putting Russia in the front line of the battle against IS, he also risks making his country a greater target, she adds.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem has praised, what he called, a new co-ordination mechanism between Syria, Russia, Iran and Iraq to fight terrorism. 

He discussed the new system with his Iraqi counterpart on the sidelines of UN meetings in New York, state media said. 

Iraq has previously said it would share intelligence with Syria, Russia and Iran to help fight Islamic State militants.

It is "too early" to say what Russia strikes targeted in Syria, the White House says. Amid conflicting reports on whether they were against Islamic State or in support of President Bashar al-Assad, spokesman Josh Earnest said the US was reviewing the situation.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has also spoken out against any moves to leave President Assad in office, saying the current regime had led Syria into its crisis. He told the UN Security Council: "The Assad regime created the environment in which extremism and Isil (IS) in particular have flourished. So we reject the advice of those who say the poison of Assad is the cure for the cancer of Isil."

Image source, Getty Images

US Secretary of State John Kerry, addressing the UN Security Council, said the US would have "grave concerns" if Russia carried out air strikes in areas where Islamic State (IS) was not present. 

He also reiterated the US position that IS "cannot be defeated as long as Bashar al-Assad remains president of Syria". Russia has been a staunch ally of President Assad.

Image source, AP

The volunteer search and rescue force, the Syria Civil Defence, tweets... 

The US has carried out strikes against IS targets in the Syrian city of Aleppo, a US official has said - despite a request from Russia to clear the skies so they could carry out their own raids. The US has said their operations will continue regardless of the Russian missions.

Image source, AP

Following on from Barbara Plett-Usher's tweet on the French foreign minister's response, here's what he said to reporters in New York a short time ago. 

Image source, Reuters

Our new map uses the latest information to show where the Russian air strikes happened and which group controls each area

The Russian foreign ministry has rejected reports of civilian casualties caused by its air strikes, BBC Monitoring reports, and said there was an "information war" directed against Russia.

"Russia has barely managed to launch its operation to counter (Islamic State), and already there have been numerous fake reports in the media saying that peaceful civilians are dying as a result of the Russian operation," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted saying by the Interfax news agency. 

"All this is an information-based attack - the information war of which we have heard so often."

British Prime Minister David Cameron says he welcomes the Russian strikes - if they are confirmed to be against Islamic State.

Speaking to journalists on a visit to Jamaica he said: "We'll need to look very carefully at the reports and exactly what has happened. I have a clear view, which is that: if this is part of international action against ISIL (an alternative acronym for IS) and that appalling terrorist death cult outfit, then that is all to the good. 

"If, on the other hand, this is action against the Free Syrian Army and in defence of Assad the dictator, then obviously that is a retrograde step, but let's see what happened."

Image source, PA

Russia gave Israel advance notice that it was about to launch air strikes on Syria, an Israeli official told AFP news agency. 

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Moscow on a mechanism to avoid "misunderstandings" in Syrian airspace. 

Israel is believed to have previously targeted Syrian and Iranian weapons convoys in Syria meant for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, although it has not officially acknowledged this.

The US, which is also conducting raids against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, was given an hour's notice before the Russian strikes began, a defence official has told the BBC. He told the BBC's Washington correspondent Gary O'Donoghue the US did not consider this communication anything like the "deconfliction talks" which the US and Russia had said they would enter into.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been chairing a meeting of his government to discuss the situation in Syria. 

The meeting came after parliament gave approval for Russian air strikes in Syria.

Image source, EPA

These screengrabs from video posted online by opposition activists purportedly showing the aftermath of Russian air strikes in Talbiseh, Homs province.

Image source, Syria Rebels Gathering

Image source, Syria Rebels Gathering

Image source, Syria Rebels Gathering

Image source, Syria Rebels Gathering

Image source, Syria Rebels Gathering

The BBC's State Department Correspondent tweets...

The opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) has said that the Russian air strikes have targeted FSA locations in the countryside around Hama, BBC Monitoring reports. 

The FSA added that "the strikes mainly targeted civilians in addition to a limited number of FSA fighters," according to Saudi-funded Al-Arabiya TV.