The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized western leaders after none appeared to condemn the shelling of a mobile Russian hospital by militants in Syria. Two Russian medics were killed after around a dozen of shells hit the facility in Aleppo.

“On December 5, a Russian military medic died as a mortar shell fired by militants directly hit the reception ward of a Russian mobile military hospital set up in Aleppo. Two medical specialists were also severely injured and one of them later died,” the ministry said.

“However, no words of condemnation can be heard from western capitals,” it added, criticizing western governments for their “politicized approach” to the assessment of the situation in Syria.

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“We call on our partners to abandon the politicized approach and finally join the counter-terrorist efforts in Syria as well as the search for a political solution to the Syrian crisis” instead of waging a smear campaign in the media, the ministry said in its statement.

It then went on to criticize Paris and London, saying they are waging a “propaganda campaign” – in particular over the delivery of humanitarian aid.

“Our ‘concerned’ French and British colleagues cannot but know that such aid is already rendered to the Aleppo residents … by the Russian side through the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria and the Russian Emergencies Ministry,” the foreign ministry said.

It also slammed western governments for their repeated calls to stop the government operation in Eastern Aleppo, which “increasingly resembles the last desperate attempt to shield and save the terrorists and extremists supervised by [the West], who are on the losing side in the Aleppo [battle].”

The ministry said again that armed groups that the West attempts to support “use civilians as human shields, [and] shell and mine civilian infrastructure and humanitarian corridors.”

About 11 shells landed on the territory of the Russian hospital leading to its total destruction, Vladimir Savchenko, the head of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria told journalists earlier on Monday.

The Russian Defense Ministry urged for the international community to condemn the attack and said that the incident would be investigated and all responsible would be held to account.

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The ministry also said that it attributes blame for the hospital shelling to “terrorists and their patrons in the US, the UK and France.”

“It is beyond doubt that the shelling was conducted by the ‘opposition’ militants. Moscow understands who gave the Syrian militants the coordinates of the Russian hospital right at the moment when it started working,” the Defense Ministry’s spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov said.

The US State Department, which is usually quick to comment on reports of attacks on medical facilities in Syria, found it difficult to confirm and therefore specifically condemn the shelling of the Russian hospital.

“I’ve seen the reports we’ve not been able to confirm; it’s difficult to do obviously, given the fighting and given our lack of access to what’s happening on the ground,” spokesperson Mark Toner told RT’s Gayane Chichakyan. “But to answer your question – of course we condemn any attack on a hospital or healthcare facility.”

RT has requested comment on the shelling of the Russian hospital from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, and Amnesty International.

In response to a request from RT, Amnesty International said it is trying to check whether it is “able to comment on this.”

“But usually if we have not documented and been able to verify details for ourselves it can be tricky for us to provide a comment on specific attacks,” the emailed response reads.

“Repeated attacks on healthcare and other civilian infrastructure throughout Aleppo” indicated that “all sides to the conflict in Syria are failing in their duties to respect and protect healthcare workers, patients and hospitals, and to distinguish between them and military objectives,” the Red Cross told RT in a comment following the shelling of the hospital.

“Healthcare infrastructure, medical personnel and the sick and wounded are protected under international humanitarian law (IHL). They must not be attacked,” the Red Cross stressed, adding that “when hospitals come under fire, countless numbers of people are deprived of life-saving healthcare.” </s> ALEPPO, Syria — Rebel shelling killed two Russian nurses and eight civilians Monday in Aleppo, and a Russian fighter jet crashed as it was returning to an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean after a sortie over Syria, but the pilot ejected safely, Moscow officials said.

The shelling that targeted government-controlled western Aleppo was one of the most intense in recent days. It coincided with a crushing air and ground assault that has seen forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad recapture more than half of opposition-held eastern Aleppo.

Russia and militias allied with Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah have been staunch supporters of Assad in his country's bitter civil war, now in its sixth year.

The shelling initially killed one female nurse and wounded two Russian medics working in a field hospital, a Russian officer told reporters in the northern city. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Moscow had sent hospital equipment to the government-controlled Furqan neighborhood on Sunday.

Another nurse who was wounded in the shelling later died, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"The Russian and Syrian doctors tried their best to save her," Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in an emailed statement. Another Russian, a pediatrician, remains in critical condition.

He urged international organizations such as the Red Cross to condemn the attack on the health workers "who were doing their medical duty to help the civilians of Aleppo."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said talks would be held with the United States this week in Geneva on a rebel withdrawal from eastern Aleppo, Russian news agencies reported. The Russians have tried before to coax rebels into leaving the territory, setting up corridors out of the district, but the fighters have refused because they want to retain their control over parts of the city. Some fear the Russians and their Syrian allies would not ensure their safety.

Monday's fighting was the worst in days. Syrian government artillery, tanks and warplanes pounded rebel-held parts of the city for hours. The airstrikes were so intense that buildings on the western side of the city shook. Opposition activists and rescue workers said four people were killed in a barrel bomb attack on a rebel-held district, and three more were trapped in the rubble.

Insurgents also struck back in the government-held western parts of the city with dozens of mortar shells. At least eight civilians were killed in different neighborhoods, according to state news agency SANA. Among the dead were two children and four women, said the opposition Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Thick smoke billowed from behind Aleppo's famous citadel where Syrian forces were advancing from the west and east to try to cut rebel-held districts in half.

On the city's southern edge, heavy machine gun fire could be heard.

An Associated Press team in government-controlled Aleppo said the attack on the Russian field hospital left the large tent charred and beds overturned. The shelling struck shortly before the inauguration of makeshift clinic. The AP crew was accompanied by representatives of the Syrian army.

Konashenkov said an unspecified number of residents at the field hospital were wounded, and he accused the U.S., Britain and France of telling the rebels the location of the hospital.

"The blood of our soldiers is on the hands of those who ordered this murder — those who created, nurtured and armed these beasts in human form and named them the 'opposition,'" he said.

Asked about the accusation, the British Defense Ministry declined to comment.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said the Su-33 fighter jet crashed in the Mediterranean as it returned to the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov after a sortie over Syria. "Because of the failure of the arrester system's cable, the Su-33 fighter rolled off the deck," the ministry said.

The pilot ejected successfully and was unharmed, the ministry said, adding that Russian military operations over Syria would not be affected by the incident.

This is the second loss of an aircraft from the Admiral Kuznetsov since it arrived off Syria last month. A MiG-29 crashed into the sea Nov. 15 while trying to land on the carrier.

In a ground offensive that began last week, Syrian government forces seized large parts of the Aleppo enclave that have been under rebel control since 2012. Monday's fighting was most intense near the dividing line between eastern and western Aleppo as government and allied troops pushed their way from the eastern flank, reaching less than 1 kilometer (half a mile) from the citadel in the center of the city.

Rebel fighters clashed with advancing troops and also lobbed mortars and shells into the government-controlled part of Aleppo to the west.

The opposition-run Thiqa News agency and the Syrian Civil Defense said four civilians were killed in the rebel-held Zabadiyeh district when barrel bombs were dropped there.

In nearby rebel-controlled Idlib province, Syrian opposition activists said Russian and Syrian aircraft stepped up assaults, a day after air raids killed more than 60 people.

The activist-run Local Coordination Committees said airstrikes on Monday hit the towns of Binnish, Maarat Nasaan and Saraqib, as well as the provincial capital, Idlib. The network said three children were killed, blaming the attacks on Russian aircraft.

Rebels also sent rockets into the predominantly Shiite towns of Foua and Kfarya, in Idlib province. Online video posted by activists showed clouds of smoke rising and wreckage sustained by the blasts.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 288 civilians have been killed in the province since Oct. 20, when Syrian government and Russian aircraft intensified airstrikes. The Syrian Civil Defense in Idlib said 65 civilians were killed in Sunday's airstrikes across the province, including attacks on two rural marketplaces that killed dozens. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Dr Abu Rajan shows cameras around the bombed M10 hospital in rebel-held Aleppo

Russian and Syrian air raids on the rebel-held eastern half of the city of Aleppo have forced the closure of the largest hospital in the area and killed two people, a medical charity says.

The Syrian American Medical Society, which supports the hospital, said it had been struck by barrel bombs.

There are also reports of Russian-backed Syrian government forces hitting Aleppo's historic Old City.

Clashes between government troops and rebels are occurring in several areas.

Russian and Syrian air forces resumed attacks on the rebel-held east of the city after a partial truce lapsed on 19 September. Government forces have also launched a ground offensive against the rebels.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Hospitals in the east of Aleppo have been razed to the ground

Image caption Two people people were killed and about 10 reported injured at the hospital

The mounting civilian death toll has sparked international protests. The US says Russia is driving moderate rebels into the arms of jihadists.

Once Syria's commercial and industrial hub, Aleppo has been divided roughly in two since 2012.

The UN says at least 400 civilians, including many children, have been killed in the city this week as a result of Russian and Syrian government attacks.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Aleppo: Key battleground in Syria's civil war

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Drone footage shows children playing football among Aleppo's ruins

On Saturday, air raids hit Aleppo's main trauma M10 hospital for the third time in a matter of days, medical workers say.

"The hospital is now out of service completely," radiologist Mohammad Abu Rajab was quoted by Reuters as saying.

"There's destruction to walls, infrastructure, equipment and generators. There are no more guards or staff left. It's complete darkness."

Hospital manager Dr Abu Rajan told local media that about 10 people at the hospital had been injured after it was hit by barrel bombs - improvised devices dropped from helicopters - cluster munitions, and a chlorine bomb.

Two patients were killed, while others have now been transferred to alternative facilities, the Syrian American Medical Society said.

A spokesman for US President Barack Obama condemned the bombing, which he said showed "total disregard" for medical professionals and patients.

"Reports of yet another hospital being destroyed further demonstrates the total disregard for the lives of medical professionals and their patients who need critical care because of the Assad regime and Russia's relentless campaign against the Syrian people."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also condemned the bombing, saying the shelling of healthcare structures and personnel constituted war crimes - and the perpetrators would have to be held to account.

'Shelling heavily'

The Syrian army says it is gaining ground but the rebels deny this.

"They are shelling the Old City heavily after another failed attempt to gain ground," Abu Hamam, from the Failaq al-Sham group, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

"They have lost several fighters and we are steadfast."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, also reported government barrel bomb and jet attacks on the Ghouta area outside Damascus on Saturday.

In another development, it said government forces were battling fighters from the Islamic State group in Homs region.

War of words

Washington and Moscow have continued to spar over Syria, with the US dismissing Russian accusations that it was protecting a jihadist group in its bid to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the US had broken its promise to separate the powerful Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly known as al-Nusra Front) and other extremist groups from more moderate rebels.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Russia's claim is "absurd", says state department spokesman Mark Toner

State department spokesman Mark Toner said the Russian allegations were "absurd".

He told reporters the US had not targeted al-Nusra for months because they had become "intermingled" with other groups and civilians.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sergei Lavrov: "We believe the plan was to spare Nusra"

At least 250,000 people have been killed in the conflict since it began in March 2011 with the Observatory estimating the true number to be about 430,000.

More than 4.8 million people have fled abroad, and an estimated 6.5 million others have been displaced within the country, the UN says. </s> George Ourfalian, AFP | A Russian soldier inspects the damage at a field hospital in the Syrian city of Aleppo that was reportedly destroyed by rebel shelling on December 5, 2016

A Russian army medic was killed Monday and two others seriously injured in rebel shelling of a field hospital in Syria's Aleppo, Russia's defence ministry said, blaming Western nations who support rebel fighters.

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"As a result of a shell directly hitting the reception area of the hospital, one Russian female military medic was killed," Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

"Two medical workers were heavily wounded. Local residents who had come to visit the doctors were also injured."

A photographer who supplies AFP with photos described seeing burned tents and charred boxes of medical supplies at the scene.

Konashenkov said the attack had "undoubtedly been carried out by 'opposition' fighters" and laid the blame at the door of Western nations – including the US, Britain and France – that have backed those fighting its ally, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

"We understand who gave the fighters the exact information and coordinates of the reception area of the Russian hospital as it was starting its work," Konashenkov added.

"Our servicemen's blood is on the hands of those who ordered this murder."

Syrian rebels are battling forces loyal to Assad after sweeping advances saw the government seize back large chunks of territory in eastern Aleppo.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that President Vladimir Putin had ordered that field hospitals be sent to war-ravaged Aleppo.

Russia has been flying air raids in Syria since September 2015, intervening at the request of Assad, Moscow's longtime ally.

Russia says it has halted air strikes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo since October 18 following international condemnation over its ferocious bombardment of the city.

The deadly war in Syria has killed more than 300,000 people since it started in March 2011 with a wave of anti-government protests.

(AFP) </s> Moscow: Two Russian soldiers have been killed by artillery fire from the Islamic State group in Syria's eastern province of Deir Ezzor, where the army is battling jihadists, Russia's defence ministry said on Monday.

One serviceman was killed instantly and a second died from his wounds in hospital, according to a ministry statement quoted by Russian news agencies.

The soldiers were travelling with a convoy that was hit by "mortar fire from Islamic State terrorists", according to the ministry.

Moscow announced earlier on Monday that it was providing support to Syrian government forces in their push to take Deir Ezzor, one of the last remaining cities controlled by the jihadists.

Russia intervened in Syria's six-year-old civil war in September 2015 on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's government, and has conducted thousands of air strikes against targets it labels as "terrorists".

It also has a troop presence on the ground and the two soldiers reported killed on Monday bring to 34 the number of Russian service personnel killed in Syria, according to defence ministry figures. </s> Two Russian servicemen have been killed after they came under shelling in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that one more soldier remains in the hospital, with doctors struggling to save his life."Two Russian servicemen were killed in a mortar shell explosion," the ministry said, adding that one more serviceman is currently fighting for his life.The ministry has not detailed the exact place and date of the attack, nor the identities of the servicemen.Reports about the incident were released earlier in the Russian media.Reports about the incident emerged earlier this week in the Russian media. On Monday, RBC media group talked to Evgeny Zavidny, who said that his brother, Igor, together with one more soldier had been killed in an attack."They were shelled by mortar fire and two people were killed," Evgeny said, adding that Igor had been serving in the Russian Army for three years. He had reportedly served in Russia's Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia Regions.A friend of Igor posted pictures of him on Facebook, saying that he had been killed in Syria."RIP, a hero," Irina Zubova wrote in a post, adding that Igor had been born in Russia's Orenburg Region in the Urals in 1982.Zavidny's funeral will take place in his home town of Novotroitsk in Orenburg Region April 13, TASS reported, citing Galina Viskova, an official from the city council's press service.Earlier, the ministry said that a Russian soldier died near Palmyra, Syria, when Islamic State militants tried to break through an area occupied by Syrian pro-government forces. A Russian major general also lost both his legs and an eye when a radio controlled bomb hit a convoy going to an airfield located west of Palmyra in the Syrian city of Homs.In February, four Russian servicemen were killed in Syria, when a radio controlled bomb targeting a Syrian military convoy exploded, the Russian Defense Ministry said. </s> ALEPPO, Syria — Rebel shelling of the Syrian government-held part of Aleppo killed a Russian nurse in a makeshift Russian hospital in the city on Monday while the Defense Ministry in Moscow said a Russian fighter jet crashed into the Mediterranean Sea after returning from a sortie over Syria.

The developments were a blow to Russia, which has been one of the staunchest supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad in his country's bitter civil war, now in its sixth year.

The shelling that killed the female nurse also wounded two Russian doctors working in the field hospital, a Russian officer in Aleppo told reporters. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The hospital equipment was part of aid that Moscow had sent into the Furqan neighborhood in the government section of the city the previous day.

In Moscow, Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov confirmed the death of one Russian medic in Aleppo and said two were seriously wounded in an artillery attack that hit the Russian military hospital. He said an unspecified number of local residents who were at the hospital were also wounded and accused the United States, Britain and France of tipping off the rebels about the hospital's location.

"The blood of our soldiers is on the hands of those who ordered this murder. Those who created, nurtured and armed these beasts in human form and named them the 'opposition'," Konashenkov said.

Separately, the Defense Ministry said a Russian Su-33 fighter jet, based on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea after returning from a sortie over Syria. The ministry said that "because of the failure of the arrester system's cable, the Su-33 fighter rolled off the deck" on Monday.

The pilot successfully ejected and was unharmed, the ministry said, adding that Russian military operations over Syria would not be affected by the incident.

This is the second loss of an aircraft from Russia's only aircraft carrier since it arrived off Syria last month. A MiG-29 crashed into the sea on Nov. 15 while attempting to land on the Admiral Kuznetsov.

In Aleppo, rebel shelling on the government-held part of the contested city has intensified in recent weeks as Syrian government and allied troops push their way into parts of Aleppo controlled by the opposition.

In an offensive that began last week, Syrian government forces seized large swaths of the Aleppo enclave that have been under rebel control since 2012. The fighting was most intense on Monday near the dividing line between east and west Aleppo as government and allied troops pushed their way from the eastern flank, reaching within less than 1 kilometer (half a mile) from the citadel in the center of the city.

Rebel fighters clashed with advancing troops and also lobbed mortars and shells into the government-controlled part of Aleppo to the west. Syrian State TV said four civilians were killed Monday in three different neighborhoods in western Aleppo.

The opposition-run Thiqa News agency and the Syrian Civil Defense in Aleppo city said four civilians were killed in rebel-held Zabadiyeh district when barrel bombs were dropped there.

In the nearby rebel-controlled Idlib province, Syrian opposition activists said Russian and Syrian aircraft stepped up assaults, a day after air raids killed more than 60 people.

The activist-run Local Coordination Committees said airstrikes on Monday hit the towns of Binnish, Maarat Nasaan, and Saraqib, as well as the provincial capital, Idlib. The network said three children were killed, blaming the attacks on Russian aircraft.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 288 civilians have been killed in the province since Oct. 20, when Syrian government and Russian aircraft intensified airstrikes. The Syrian Civil Defense in Idlib said 65 civilians were killed in Sunday's airstrikes across the province, including attacks on two rural marketplaces that killed dozens. </s> Two Russian soldiers reported killed by shelling in Syria

Image from video released by Russia's Defence Ministry on September 1, 2017 shows missiles hitting vehicles said to be Islamic State targets on a road in Deir al-Zor province, Syria. — Russian Defence Ministry handout via ReutersMOSCOW, Sept 5 — Two Russian servicemen have been killed in Deir al-Zor province after Islamic State militants shelled a convoy they were escorting, the Russian Defence Ministry was cited as saying yesterday by the Interfax news agency.

The convoy was transporting Russian ceasefire monitoring military staff when it came under mortar attack, the ministry was quoted as saying.

One soldier was killed on the spot and the other died in hospital after sustaining serious injuries. Both were awarded posthumous military awards, the ministry said.

Russia said earlier yesterday that its air force was helping the Syrian army push ahead with an offensive on the Euphrates city of Deir al-Zor, where Islamic State has besieged 93,000 civilians and an army garrison for years. — Reuters </s> Two Russian soldiers killed by shelling in Syria's Deir al-Zor province

Two Russian servicemen have been killed in Deir al-Zor province after Islamic State militants shelled a convoy they were escorting, the Russian Defence Ministry was cited as saying on Monday by the Interfax news agency, Reuters reported.

The convoy was transporting Russian ceasefire monitoring military staff when it came under mortar attack, the ministry was quoted as saying.

One soldier was killed on the spot and the other died in hospital after sustaining serious injuries. Both were awarded posthumous military awards, the ministry said.

Russia said earlier on Monday that its air force was helping the Syrian army push ahead with an offensive on the Euphrates city of Deir al-Zor, where Islamic State has besieged 93,000 civilians and an army garrison for years.
Two Russian army medics are killed after around a dozen shells hit a mobile hospital in Aleppo.