Syrian rebel group claims to have killed six Russian officers
The ‘Faylaq al-Sham’ group announced the deaths of six Russian officers as well as several Iranian and Syrian military in the province of Hama in Syria. This was reported by the SITE intelligence group, which monitors Islamist activity.
According to representatives of the rebel group, they have "watched and followed" the killed servicemen for more than three months.
However, the Russian Defense Ministry has denied the information about the deaths of six Russian soldiers in Syria, Interfax news agency reports. "All Russian military personnel in the Syrian Arab Republic are alive, healthy, and to the envy of our enemies, they are performing and fulfilling their tasks," the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation stated.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that "the messages in foreign social networks about the alleged deaths of Russian soldiers have no grounds and are a blatant misrepresentation of facts."
Russian authorities have officially acknowledged the deaths of 20 soldiers in Syria since the beginning of Russian operation. The names of two of the crew members who were shot down in early August in a Mi-8 helicopter, are unknown.