Armed rebels in Aleppo have launched a military operation aimed at breaking week-long regime siege of the opposition-controlled eastern part of the Syrian city.
Advertisement
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said the helicopter was shot down in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib by gunfire from the ground while returning to the Hmeimim Air Base after delivering humanitarian aid to the Syrian city of Aleppo.
Militants belonging to the Islamic State shot down a Syrian Mi-25 helicopter in July, killing two Russian crew members on board.
Another 133 chemical attacks were reported in addition to the 161 documented in the reported, but SAMS said the claims “could not be fully substantiated”.
Videos uploaded online by Syrian opposition activists showed the burning wreckage of a Russian helicopter in footage seemingly taken in the first moments after it crashed.
The group, also known as the “White Helmets”, released video showing what it said were several victims lying on what appeared to be rudimentary hospital beds, breathing through masks and hooked up to IV drips.
One empty rocket pod was seen next to the debris, raising some questions about whether the MI8 helicopter was indeed carrying aid.
So far nobody has claimed the responsibility for the downed helicopter.
And in nearby Idlib province, a helicopter gunship was shot down. The Nusra Front announced last week that it was changing its name and relinquishing ties with al-Qaida in an attempt to undermine a potential US and Russian air campaign against its fighters.
Syria’s state news agency says rebel fire has killed at least nine civilians in the government- controlled section of the divided northern city of Aleppo.
Yet, Russia on Tuesday rejected reports that the chemical attack had happened and said they were full of false information.
The opposition Syrian National Coalition blamed the attack on the Assad regime.
Russian warplanes pounded the southern edges of Aleppo on August 1, slowing a “last chance” rebel offensive against Assad’s forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. He said that 82 militants also have put down weapons.
The United Nations has warned that basic supplies for the 250,000 people who live in besieged areas would last only three weeks.
The city was once Syria’s economic powerhouse but has been ravaged by fighting, particularly in recent months as rebels and the regime each try to assert control.
Citing the need to fight terrorists in faraway territories before they arrived in Russia, Putin began a military operation in Syria at the end of September in support of the government of President Bashar Assad.
Advertisement
According to a Syrian military source, about 5,000 pro-regime fighters, including Iranian forces and Hizbullah fighters, are taking part in the battle for the city.
