Radical Islamists fired mortar shells on the Russian airbase Khemeymim in Syria on December 31, resulting in the destruction of at least 7 aircraft of the Russian Air Force and injured more than ten servicemen. This was reported on Wednesday, January 3, the newspaper Kommersant, citing two unnamed "military-diplomatic sources". According to the latest, four Su-24 bombers, two Su-35S fighters, an An-72 transport aircraft, as well as an ammunition depot were destroyed in Khmeimim. The information about the attack was confirmed by the source of the newspaper Vedomosti, close to the Russian Ministry of Defense,.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation did not comment on this incident, but officially confirmed the death of two pilots who piloted the Mi-24 helicopter on December 31,. According to the Russian military, the helicopter crashed because of a failure of technology, and not as a result of the attack. "Kommersant" because of the large losses of military equipment called the incident at the airbase Khmeimim one of the most serious for the duration of the operation in Syria.

Source: DW.