Two Russian soldiers killed in Syria
Two Russian contract soldiers were killed in the province of Deir ez-Zor in Syria during an ISIS bombing attack, RIA Novosti reported.
"The military contractors were escorting the convoy of the Russian Center for Reconciliation. In the province of Deir ez-Zor the convoy came under a mortar attack by ISIS terrorists. As a result of the shelling, one Russian serviceman was killed, another one was seriously injured," according to the statement by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
The wounded serviceman was rushed to the hospital, however he succumbed to his injuries.
In early August, Reuters reported that since the beginning of 2017 at least 40 Russians were killed in Syria. The agency, referring to information received from the relatives and friends of the deceased, writes that over the past seven months, 21 private military specialists and 17 military personnel from Russia were killed in Syria. The status of two more people is unknown.
The Russian military operation in Syria began in September 2015. The Russian authorities claimed that only the Russian Air Forces were participating and that there were no ground operations. However, it later became known that all along Russian Special Forces have been participating in the war in Syria as well. Officially, Russian authorities stated that the goal of the military operation in Syria was the fight against terrorists from the extremist group, the Islamic State. In the West, it is believed that in fact, under the pretext of fighting ISIS, Russia is supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in a civil war.