Drones Downed Near Russia's Hmeimim Launched From Idlib Zone - Russian Military

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Drones downed on Sunday near Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria were launched from the Idlib de-escalation zone, Maj. Gen. Yuri Borenkov, the commander of the Russian Centre for Syrian Reconciliation, said.

"On 1 February, at about 11 p.m. Moscow time [20:00 GMT], Russian Hmeimim airbase airspace control means discovered unmanned aerial vehicles launched from an area of the Idlib de-escalation zone under the control of illegal armed units. Means of electronic warfare of the airbase intercepting and disabled all UAVs by disrupting their control systems", the message read.

No casualties and damage have been registered at the base after the attack, and the base is currently operating in a normal mode.

In January, the Syrian army started an offensive in the west of Aleppo over militants' daily shelling of the city's residential areas. 

Syria has been in the state of civil war for over six years, with government forces fighting against both Syrian opposition groups and terrorist organisations. The country's civilian population is in dire need of assistance amid continuing fighting and subsequent humanitarian crisis. Multiple international organisations and individual states provide aid for the residents of the war-affected areas.

Moscow started its counterterrorism operation in Syria on 30 September 2015 at the request of Damascus. Russia is also a guarantor of the Syrian ceasefire along with Turkey and Iran.