Russian general killed in Syria ⁰

A Russian general has been killed by Daesh terrorists close to Syria’s eastern Dayr al-Zawr province.

According to a statement released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday, Lieutenant-General Valery Asapov was killed after coming under Daesh mortar fire.

The statement added that Asapov, a senior military advisor in the country, was stationed at a Syrian command outpost aiding in the liberation of Dayr al-Zawr when he was killed.

“As a result of a sudden mortar shelling by Daesh militants, Lieutenant-General Valery Asapov was fatally wounded by an exploding shell,” read the statement.

In early September, the ministry announced the death of two more Russian servicemen in Daesh shelling in Syria. Together with Asapov, that brings the overall death toll of Russian troops in Syria to 37.

Last week, Moscow announced that the Syrian military had liberated more than 85 percent of the strategic eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr from Daesh terrorists.

The Syrian army’s liberation operation in Dayr al-Zawr is facing strong resistance and massive fire from areas where militant groups and US-backed forces are stationed.

Daesh overran large parts of Dayr al-Zawr province, including its oilfields, in mid-2014 as it seized swathes of land in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

By early 2015, the Takfiri terrorists were in control of some parts of Dayr al-Zawr and besieged the remaining parts, which were under government control.

The blockade was lifted in early September by Syrian government forces, which brought relief to tens of thousands of people trapped in the city. It is estimated that 100,000 people remain in the government-held parts of the city.

Source: Presstv