The Russian army announced Monday that it had killed “about 200 fighters” in Syria during an aerial bombardment on a base housing “terrorists” northeast of the city of Palmyra.
“After confirmation by several sources of the location of terrorist targets, the Russian air force carried out several strikes as a result of which two shelters were destroyed and around 200 fighters were killed,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a report. press release posted on Facebook.
He adds that these bombings destroyed “24 pick-ups equipped with heavy machine guns and around 500 kilos of ammunition and components for the manufacture of improvised explosives. “
The press release does not specify which terrorist group it is about, nor the precise date of the bombing.
According to the Russian army, the target was a “camouflaged base” where “terrorist groups” were formed to carry out attacks in Syria and manufacture explosives.
She adds that “illegal armed formations” have planned attacks on Syrian public buildings “in order to destabilize the situation in the country in anticipation of the presidential election”, scheduled for May 26.
This upcoming election is the second since the start in 2011 of a devastating conflict that has left more than 388,000 dead and thrown millions of Syrians, refugees abroad or displaced in poverty-stricken camps on the road to exodus. on the territory.
In this conflict, President Bashar Al-Assad’s Syria has benefited since 2015 from massive and crucial military support from Moscow, which has enabled it to recapture most of the lost territories.
On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry maintained that “terrorists” were being trained in several camps in areas not controlled by the Syrian regime, “including in the area of ​​El-Tanf which is controlled by American forces”.