Reconciliation Center Says Terrorists Shelled Syria's Idlib De-escalation Zone 22 Times

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Rear Adm. Alexander Karpov, deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said at a briefing that the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group* had shelled Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone 22 times over the past 24 hours.

"Twenty-two shelling attacks from the positions of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group were registered in the Idlib de-escalation zone in the provinces of Idlib (12 attacks), Latakia (8), Hama (1) and Aleppo (1)," Rear Adm. Karpov said.

He said the number of attacks according to the Syrian side's data totaled 21.

No shelling by illegal armed groups controlled by Turkey has been registered in the past day, Rear Adm. Karpov said.

He said army aviation had conducted air patrols along routes from the Metras airfield to Kvayres and back.

The Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides and Control over the Movement of Refugees in the Syrian Arab Republic was created in February 2016. The center's tasks include the signing of agreements on illegal armed groups and individual settlements joining the regime of cessation of hostilities, as well as coordinating the delivery of humanitarian aid.

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*Jabhat al-Nusra (also known as Al-Nusra Front, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, or al-Qaeda in Syria) is a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other states.