Syria's Idlib De-escalation Zone Shelled 36 Times in Past Day, Russian Military Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (banned in Russia) shelled Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone 36 times over the past 24 hours, Rear Adm. Alexander Karpov, deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said at a briefing.

"Thirty-six 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 (15 attacks), Latakia (17), Aleppo (3) and Hama (1)," Rear Adm. Karpov said.

He said the number of attacks according to the Syrian side's data also totaled 29.

Rear Adm. Karpov said no shelling on the part of illegal armed groups controlled by Turkey had been registered in the past day.

He said Russian military police units continued to escort civilian vehicles on the M4 highway between the Raqqa and al-Hasakah provinces.

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.

*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