The U.N.is waiting for results of U.S. “Our hope again is that by the end of this month we’ll have intra-Syrian talks going”.
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Russian officials said that the vehicle had been out delivering humanitarian supplies to the battered city of Aleppo when it was struck by rocket fire from the ground.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed condolences over the deaths of the five soldiers.
A Russian marine sent on a mission to rescue the pilot was also killed when his helicopter was shot down.
Pro-Syrian government forces on the ground are being supported by heavy airstrikes in the same area. “The attack was launched under the leadership of Al-Nusra Front”, General Sergei Rudskoi, Head of the main operational department of the Russian General Staff, stated to reporters, according to TASS news agency. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of militants and government troops were killed in the fighting, but didn’t provide exact numbers. He said 82 militants had also laid down their weapons.
Five crew members have been killed as a Russian military chopper was shot down in Syria, the Kremlin said.
They were returning to Russian Federation after delivering humanitarian goods to the city of Aleppo, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
In the video, a number of men, some of them armed, cheered around the bodies, shouting “Allahu akbar”, God is great in Arabic.
The helicopter appears to have broken up as it crashed.
A Russian military helicopter was shot down Monday in Syria by opposition forces.
Three crew and two officers were on board. Video of the still burning wreckage was uploaded by Syrian rebel forces in what would have been minutes after the attack.
Hmeimim Airbase is located in Syria’s Latakia province to the immediate west of Idlib. That was reported by opposition activists.
No group has claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter.
The attack took place around 40km from Aleppo, where rebel groups are involved in an offensive to break a government siege on rebel-held parts of the city.
The UK-based watchdog group said that intense battles, however, are still raging in southern Aleppo.
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The Syrian and Russian militaries have secured safe corridors for residents who want to flee the besieged city, but as of Saturday only a few people had left.
