Russian soldier killed by Syrian rebel fire

A Russian soldier was killed in Syria after coming under fire from rebels in Homs province, a representative of Russia's Hmeimim air base told Russian news agencies on Wednesday.

The soldier, named as Anton Yerygin, "sustained serious injuries after coming under fire by rebels while escorting vehicles of the Russian coordination centre mediating between the warring sides", the unnamed official told Interfax news agency.

Yergyin died at a military hospital two days later, where he was taken shortly after the assault, the official added.

He did not specify however when the assault had taken place, or when exactly the soldier died.

The death came after the body of a Russian special forces officer killed in late March close to Palmyra was flown back to his home town on 5 May in a full military ceremony.

The announcement of the latest casualty also came hours before the expiry at midnight on Wednesday of a Russian and US-brokered ceasefire in Aleppo.

Regime forces and rebels in the battleground city have already agreed to extend the truce twice.

Local activists in Aleppo told The New Arab that regime airstrikes on the city resumed minutes before the truce was over, killing at least two people and wounding five others.

Meanwhile, regime airstrikes on the eastern province of Deir Az-Zour on Wednesday killed at least seven civilians, including a child.

They died in "regime airstrikes on the Shuhail district in the east of Deir Az-Zour province targeting a health facility and other areas in the district", the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Dozens including children were wounded and the number of casualties is likely to rise, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

IS controls most of oil-rich Deir Az-Zour province, he said, as well as more than half of its provincial capital.

The renewed fighting comes as world powers prepare to meet in Vienna next week to try to revive peace talks aimed at ending a five-year conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people.

Agencies contributed to this report.