Russian Airstrike in Syria's Idlib Province Kills 45 Nusra Front Fighters, Military Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Forty-five fighters of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group* have been killed in a Russian airstrike in Syria's Idlib province, Maj. Gen. Oleg Egorov, deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said on Sunday.

"On September 17, the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted a group air strike on the base of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization in the Sheikh Youssef area in Idlib province. The strike destroyed an arms depot, two materiel depots, and killed more than 45 militants, including field commanders Bilal Sayyid and Abu Dujana al-Diri," Egorov told a briefing.

The terrorists killed in the strike were directly involved in attacks on Syrian soldiers and civilians, as well as preparing sabotage and terrorist activities in Idlib, Egorov said.

Moreover, the militants of the terrorist group carried out five artillery attacks in the Idlib de-escalation zone in Syria in a day, Egorov noted. He added that in the Aleppo province there were three recorded shellings, while in the province of Latakia two shellings were documented.

*terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries.