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. </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Two Russian contract servicemen have been killed in mortar shelling by Daesh terrorists in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

"Contract servicemen accompanied a car convoy of the Russian Center for the Syrian reconciliation. When traveling in the province of Deir ez-Zor, was shelled by mortar rounds fired by Daesh terrorists," the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, a Russian serviceman was killed on site, while another one was seriously injured.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced earlier in the day that the Syrian government forces had driven Daesh terrorists out of key positions on the Palmyra-Deir ez-Zor highway.

The Syrian army supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces has been advancing toward Deir ez-Zor from three directions as part of the campaign to free the city launched in August.

Deir ez-Zor, located on the shores of the Euphrates River to the northeast of Damascus, and a military airfield near the city have been besieged by Daesh for over three years, with food and ammunition only being delivered by air, while helicopters from the city of Qamishli have been evacuating the wounded and delivering essential supplies to the city's population.

The lifting of the siege of Deir ez-Zor will lead to the complete defeat of the most combat-effective formations of the Daesh terrorist group in Syria, the chief of the Russian General Staff's Main Operational Directorate said earlier. </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Two Russian contract servicemen have been killed in a mortar shelling by Daesh terrorists in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

“Contract servicemen accompanied a car convoy of the Russian Center for the Syrian reconciliation. When traveling in the province of Deir ez-Zor, it was shelled by mortar rounds fired by Daesh terrorists,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, a Russian serviceman was killed on the site, while another one was seriously injured.

“The wounded serviceman was promptly taken to a hospital where Russian military doctors fought for his life, but his injuries proved to be mortal,” the statement said.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced earlier in the day that the Syrian government forces had driven Daesh terrorists out of key positions on the Palmyra-Deir ez-Zor highway.

The Syrian army supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces has been advancing toward Deir ez-Zor from three directions as part of the campaign to free the city launched in August.

Deir ez-Zor, located on the shores of the Euphrates River to the northeast of Damascus, and a military airfield near the city have been besieged by Daesh for over three years, with food and ammunition only being delivered by air, while helicopters from the city of Qamishli have been evacuating the wounded and delivering essential supplies to the city’s population.

The lifting of the siege of Deir ez-Zor will lead to the complete defeat of the most combat-effective formations of the Daesh terrorist group in Syria, the chief of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate said earlier. </s> Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL) terrorists have started moving tanks and other heavy weaponry to the Deir ez-Zor area in a desperate attempt to hold their positions in the region following the successful offensive of the Syrian Army, the Russian defense ministry has said."Following the successful offensive action of the Syrian Armed Forces group supported by the Russian Air Forces in the Ghanem Ali area, Islamic State terrorists try to regroup and establish fortified defensive positions in the Deir ez-Zor area," the ministry said in statement.The ministry said further that the actions of the jihadists apparently show that they "recognize the fact that the staging area around Deir ez-Zor is the last stronghold of the international terrorists on the Syrian soil."Over the last 24 hours, Russian aircraft destroyed "four tanks, 16 all-terrain vehicles with high-caliber machine guns mounted on them as well as two fortified positions that had gun lines," the statement says.Syrian government forces supported by Russian military planes are continuing their offensive on terrorists entrenched around Deir ez-Zor and are now advancing alongside the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, the statement added.On Sunday, the Russian defense ministry said the offensive operation of Syrian government forces supported by Russian warplanes led to the defeat of the "most capable and best armed group of [Islamic State] in the Euphrates River valley."The terrorists suffered heavy losses during the battle near the town of Ghanem Ali, located in the eastern part of the Raqqa governorate south of the Euphrates, the ministry said, with around 800 terrorists killed in the operation. Some 13 tanks, 29 pickup trucks with mounted high-caliber machine guns as well as nine artillery pieces were also destroyed in the armed clash Sunday.The key Euphrates city of Deir ez-Zor has been under terrorist siege for two and a half years after being cut off from government-held areas in the May 2015 jihadist offensive on Palmyra. The surrounded city, alongside a neighboring military base and airfield, have been sustained with food and ammunition by Russian and Syrian transport planes and helicopters., according to General Sergey Rudskoy, spokesman for the Russian General Staff. The Russian Air Force also significantly intensified its operations against Islamic State in August, upping the number of sorties to 60-70 per day as the push for Deir ez-Zor gains momentum.While the Syrian Army and allied forces are pushing toward the besieged city, the situation in the enclave remains tense.In September 2016, jihadists managed to capture several key positions in the area in an offensive that coincided with a US-led coalition airstrike that mistakenly hit Syrian Army positions in the city which left some 200 soldiers dead or injured.The extremists then exploited this success, eventually slicing the enclave in two in January, disrupting the supply line between the airfield and the rest of the stronghold. </s> MOSCOW (Reuters) - 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.

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. </s> Two Russian servicemen have been killed in mortar shelling conducted by Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL) terrorists, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed.

“The contract soldiers were escorting a vehicle convoy of the Russian Center for Reconciliation,” RIA Novosti reported a ministry official as saying, adding that the convoy was subjected to “mortar shelling by Islamic State terrorists while moving through the Deir ez-Zor province.”

One soldier was killed at the scene while the second one suffered severe injuries in the shelling and succumbed to his wounds in the hospital. Both servicemen were recommended for decoration posthumously, the ministry added.

The incident took place as the Syrian Army pushes forward with its offensive seeking to liberate the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, the capital of the similarly-named province, where the shelling occurred.

The province’s governor, Mohammed Ibrahim Samra, told Reuters earlier Monday that the governmental forces could break the siege and enter the city as soon as “in 24-48 hours.”

According to some reports, some units of the Syrian Army are just 10 kilometers away from the military base of the governmental forces located in the western neighborhood of the city.

The Russian Defense Ministry previously stated that breaking the blockade of Deir ez-Zor will mark the defeat of the last capable grouping of IS terrorists in Syria. “Defeating ISIL in the Deir ez-Zor region and lifting the blockade of the city will signify a strategic defeat of the international terrorist group in Syria,” the ministry said.

The Russian Air Force also intensified its air strikes targeting the terrorists’ positions in the area. The Russian warplanes made 80 sorties over the last 24 hours and “destroyed two tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, more than 10 all-terrain vehicles with heavy weapons mounted on them,” the ministry said earlier Monday, adding that 70 terrorists were killed and injured in the air strikes.

In the meantime, the Syrian SANA news agency reported that the Syrian Air Forces successfully destroyed Islamic State headquarters in the Hweika neighborhood in western Deir ez-Zor, killing at least nine commanders of the terrorists. </s> MOSCOW, Sept 4 (Reuters) - 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.

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. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Alison Williams) </s> Raids targeted civilians fleeing violence on ferries across the Euphrates River, UK-based monitoring group alleged.

At least 34 civilians, including nine children, have been killed in a Russian air raid on Euphrates River ferries near Syria's Deir Az Zor city, according to a monitoring group.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the air strikes on Sunday targeted "more than 40 ferries" that left al-Boulil town southwest of Deir Az Zor for the eastern shore of the Euphrates.

No immediate response from Russian authorities was available.

Sunday's attack came as Syrian troops pressed an offensive against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) across Deir Az Zor province with Russian air cover.

According to the War Media channel operated by Syrian government ally Hezbollah, Syrian troops seized full control of the 450km road linking the capital, Damascus, to Deir Az Zor for the first time in four years.

"The Syrian army and its allies now control the entire international highway between Deir Az Zor and Damascus, through the cities of al-Sukhna and Palmyra," it said, referring to other central Syrian cities recaptured from ISIL (also known as ISIS).

READ MORE: SDF in race with Syrian army for oil-rich Deir Az Zor

An alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters backed by the United States was also on the move against ISIL in Deir Az Zor.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday announced it had begun clearing ISIL fighters from areas east of the Euphrates, which cuts diagonally across the province.

On Sunday, the Observatory said the SDF had made a sweeping advance, capturing territory just kilometres from Deir Az Zor city.

"They seized control of a hilltop seven kilometres from the eastern banks of the Euphrates," said Abdel Rahman.

He attributed the quick gains to the fact "eastern parts of Deir Az Zor are desert and not densely populated".

Oil-rich Deir Az Zor province borders Iraq and is a strategic prize for both SDF and the Syrian army.

Since 2014, ISIL has held about 60 percent of the city and much of the surrounding province. </s> Two Russian contract soldiers were killed in Syria in mortar shelling by Islamic State terrorists, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Monday. According to the ministry, the servicemen were escorting a motor convoy of the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties.

“The motor convoy came under mortar shelling by Islamic State terrorists in the province of Deir ez-Zor. As a result of shelling, one serviceman was killed and another one was badly wounded. The wounded serviceman was promptly taken to hospital but died of deadly wounds, despite efforts taken by medics,” the ministry report said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday that the Islamic State carried out a violent attack in the south-eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, where violent clashes are taking place accompanied by explosions which shook the area, likely to be caused by an exploding booby-trapped vehicle.

This ISIS counter attack follows dozens of raids by Russian and US-led coalition warplanes on the areas controlled by ISIS in the western countryside of Deir ez-Zor city.
Russian airstrikes on several ferries attempting to cross the Euphrates near Deir ez-Zor kill at least 34 civilians, including 9 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.