MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th July, 2020) Militants in Syria have attempted to launch a drone attack on the Khmeimim airbase, although the unmanned flying vehicles were shot down by air defense systems, Rear Adm. Alexander Shcherbitsky, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's center for Syrian reconciliation, said on Sunday.
"Illegal armed groups in the Idlib de-escalation zone continue to make attempts at attacking Russia's Khmeimim airbase using drones. On July 11 at around 22:30 [19:30 GMT], Russian air defense systems identified drones that were approaching the Khmeimim airbase from the northeast. Two drones that were being used by militants were destroyed at a distance of five kilometers [3.1 miles] from the airbase," Shcherbitsky said.
No casualties or material damage were reported following the incident, the head of the center for Syrian reconciliation said.
The airbase has long been a target of terrorist groups that operate in the region, although Russian air defense systems have consistently been able to shoot down hostile drones.
