Statements by some representatives of the US Army that the Russian air strikes in Syria allegedly target the country’s moderate opposition hold no water, according to Major-General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry.
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Their press convoy was near al-Dagmashliya in the largely government-controlled province of Latakia when an anti-tank missile struck nearby on Monday. Three Russian journalists were lightly injured and one of them shell-shocked.
The Guardian reports, In what appears to be a separate incident, another Syrian rebel group – the Free Syrian Army’s First Coastal Division – says it has destroyed a Russian Federation helicopter on Turkmen Mountain, using a TOW anti-tank missile, writes Louisa Loveluck, Middle East Correspondent.
The Russian military said that the latest strikes had destroyed 80 tanker trucks near the ISIS (Islamic State militants Group) stronghold of Raqa, as well as a large oil storage tank and an oil refinery south of the city.
Mr Kosarev suffered a concussion, while Mr Hadaya was wounded by shrapnel in his back and leg and the Tass reporter was left with metal embedded in his hand.
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Assad said in an interview published Sunday that government troops were advancing on “nearly every front” thanks to the Russian air strikes, with Syrian state media reporting the regime had taken control over Maheen and Hawareen in the southeast of Homs province.
