Russia Repels Militant Drone Attack on Hmeimim Airbase in Syria’s Lattakia

By Staff, Agencies

Russian air defenses repelled a drone attack launched by unidentified militants on the strategic Hmeimim airbase in Syria's western coastal province of Lattakia.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday, "With the standard anti-aircraft missile systems deployed by the Russian air base, air targets were destroyed at a safe distance."

The statement noted that the incident inflicted no damage on the airbase.

“There were no injuries or material damage. Russia's Hmeimim airbase is operating in normal mode.”

The ministry added that the militants used three small-sized drones in the attack, which approached the base from the northeast on Sunday.

Over the past year, the Russian military thwarted several drone and mortar attacks launched by militants on the airbase, destroying 53 drones, and 27 multiple-launch rocket system shells.

Russia has been helping Syrian forces in the ongoing battles across the conflict-plagued Arab country.

The Russian military assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official request of the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to recapture key areas from Daesh [the Arabic acronym for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL’ group] and other terrorist groups across the country thanks to Russian air cover.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. Damascus accuses the ‘Israeli’ regime and its Western and regional allies of aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.