Russian Su-24 attack aircraft, Su-25 close air support jets and Su-34 fighter-bombers are being withdrawn from the Hmeymim airbase in Latakia, Rossiya-24 news channel said, citing its corespondent reporting from the scene.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the first group of Russian aircraft had left the base. The group included Tu-154 transport aircraft, and several Su-34 jets.
Late on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Defense Ministry to withdraw the bulk of the Russian military contingent in Syria. Russia's seven-month aerial campaign in Syria has, on the whole, accomplished its objectives, Putin said.
Later, the chair of the Russian Federation Council's Committee on Defense and Security said that around 1,000 Russian service personnel and some reconnaissance aircraft would remain at the Hmeymim and Tartus bases. The remaining forces are due to monitor the ongoing ceasefire in Syria.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with opposition factions and radical Islamists fighting the Syrian Army. Russia's Aerospace Forces have been conducting an aerial campaign against terrorist groups in Syria since September 30, 2015, at President Bashar Assad's request.
