Russian adviser killed by IS in Syria receives award
The Russian ministry of defence said on Wednesday that one of its military advisers operating in Syria was killed by mortar shelling from the Islamic State group.
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The Russian military has been supporting the Syrian regime [Anadolu]
A Russian military adviser has been killed by mortar fire in Syria, the Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry said the officer was fatally wounded on Monday by mortar shelling from the Islamic State group.
"A Russian military advisor in Syria was carrying tasks of helping the Syrian army familiarize itself with the new weapons supplied within the framework of acting intergovernmental contracts on military-technical cooperation," the ministry said.
It said the officer had been posthumously awarded with a medal, but didn't identify him or specify where he died.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group with a network of sources on the ground in Syria, said three Russian soldiers were also wounded in the attack, which it said took place in the northwestern province of latakia where rebel groups fighting against the regime operate, but not IS.
The officer's death is the third combat casualty the Russian military has suffered since it launched its air campaign in Syria four months ago.
A Russian pilot whose warplane was downed by a Turkish fighter at the Syrian border was shot dead by militants as he descended by parachute on 24 November. His crewmate survived and was evacuated to safety, but a Russian marine was killed in action during the rescue mission.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out Russian troops' involvement in ground action in Syria. However, Russia has sent an unknown number of military advisers to Syria and also deployed ground troops guarding the Russian air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, the main stronghold of President Bashar Assad's minority Alawite sect.
Moscow says that Russian military advisers are in Syria to help its army master weapons provided by Russia and insists that they have not joined combat.
However, speaking in December at a meeting honouring Russian military officers for their action in Syria, Putin said that "positive things have happened there thanks to you and your comrades, who have been working in the air, and, in fact, have been leading the Syrian military units."
The statement signalled a high degree of Russian military involvement in coordinating Syrian army action.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said then that the president's statement did not mean that Russian military officers have been put in charge of some Syrian army units but referred to a "coordination of Syrian army's offensive operations with air support."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier on Wednesday the country would press ahead with its bombing campaign in Syria until "terrorist organisations" such as the IS are defeated.
Backed by the intense Russian air campaign, Syrian troops have been gaining ground in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Assad's regime cut the last supply route linking rebels in Aleppo to the Turkish border, in a major blow to the opposition.
'Brutal offensive'
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Wednesday condemned a Syrian army offensive that has cut the last supply route linking rebels in the northern city of Aleppo to the Turkish border.
France "condemns the brutal offensive by the Syrian regime, with the support of Russia to encircle and asphyxiate Aleppo and its hundreds of thousands of inhabitants", Fabius said as talks in Geneva aimed at securing peace in Syria were suspended until 25 February.
The United States also denounced Russian air strikes in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo on Wednesday, saying they were targeting opposition groups and civilians and were harming faltering attempts at peace.
"It is difficult in the extreme to see how strikes against civilian targets contribute in any way to the peace process now being explored," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
"We continue to see more Russian air strikes in and around Aleppo - strikes not aimed at Daesh (the IS group), but rather, almost exclusively on the opposition," said Kirby.
The spokesman said the strikes had "led to reports of civilian casualties, increased displacement of Syrian citizens and the possible obstruction of humanitarian assistance routes.
"And so again we call on Russia to focus their military energy in Syria on Daesh, a common enemy to the entire international community, and not on the opposition or on innocent civilians."
The ministry said the officer was fatally wounded on Monday by mortar shelling from the Islamic State group.
"A Russian military advisor in Syria was carrying tasks of helping the Syrian army familiarize itself with the new weapons supplied within the framework of acting intergovernmental contracts on military-technical cooperation," the ministry said.
It said the officer had been posthumously awarded with a medal, but didn't identify him or specify where he died.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group with a network of sources on the ground in Syria, said three Russian soldiers were also wounded in the attack, which it said took place in the northwestern province of latakia where rebel groups fighting against the regime operate, but not IS.
The officer's death is the third combat casualty the Russian military has suffered since it launched its air campaign in Syria four months ago.
A Russian pilot whose warplane was downed by a Turkish fighter at the Syrian border was shot dead by militants as he descended by parachute on 24 November. His crewmate survived and was evacuated to safety, but a Russian marine was killed in action during the rescue mission.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out Russian troops' involvement in ground action in Syria. However, Russia has sent an unknown number of military advisers to Syria and also deployed ground troops guarding the Russian air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, the main stronghold of President Bashar Assad's minority Alawite sect.
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Positive things have happened there thanks to you and your comrades - Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing Russian military officers |
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Moscow says that Russian military advisers are in Syria to help its army master weapons provided by Russia and insists that they have not joined combat.
However, speaking in December at a meeting honouring Russian military officers for their action in Syria, Putin said that "positive things have happened there thanks to you and your comrades, who have been working in the air, and, in fact, have been leading the Syrian military units."
The statement signalled a high degree of Russian military involvement in coordinating Syrian army action.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said then that the president's statement did not mean that Russian military officers have been put in charge of some Syrian army units but referred to a "coordination of Syrian army's offensive operations with air support."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier on Wednesday the country would press ahead with its bombing campaign in Syria until "terrorist organisations" such as the IS are defeated.
Backed by the intense Russian air campaign, Syrian troops have been gaining ground in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Assad's regime cut the last supply route linking rebels in Aleppo to the Turkish border, in a major blow to the opposition.
'Brutal offensive'
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Wednesday condemned a Syrian army offensive that has cut the last supply route linking rebels in the northern city of Aleppo to the Turkish border.
France "condemns the brutal offensive by the Syrian regime, with the support of Russia to encircle and asphyxiate Aleppo and its hundreds of thousands of inhabitants", Fabius said as talks in Geneva aimed at securing peace in Syria were suspended until 25 February.
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It is difficult in the extreme to see how strikes against civilian targets contribute in any way to the peace process - US State Department spokesman John Kirby |
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The United States also denounced Russian air strikes in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo on Wednesday, saying they were targeting opposition groups and civilians and were harming faltering attempts at peace.
"It is difficult in the extreme to see how strikes against civilian targets contribute in any way to the peace process now being explored," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
"We continue to see more Russian air strikes in and around Aleppo - strikes not aimed at Daesh (the IS group), but rather, almost exclusively on the opposition," said Kirby.
The spokesman said the strikes had "led to reports of civilian casualties, increased displacement of Syrian citizens and the possible obstruction of humanitarian assistance routes.
"And so again we call on Russia to focus their military energy in Syria on Daesh, a common enemy to the entire international community, and not on the opposition or on innocent civilians."
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