MOSCOW: Russia is to send 175 de-mining engineers to defuse mines in Syria's Deir al-Zor, Interfax news agency quoted Russia's Defence Ministry as saying on Monday.

The first detachment of 40 de-miners has already been deployed to Russia's Hmeimim air base in Syria, the ministry said.

Syrian government forces and U.S.-backed militias converged on Islamic State in separate offensives against the militants in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zor on Sunday. </s> MOSCOW, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Russia is to send 175 de-mining engineers to defuse mines in Syria's Deir al-Zor, Interfax news agency quoted Russia's Defence Ministry as saying on Monday.

The first detachment of 40 de-miners has already been deployed to Russia's Hmeimim air base in Syria, the ministry said.

Syrian government forces and U.S.-backed militias converged on Islamic State in separate offensives against the militants in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zor on Sunday. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Christian Lowe) </s> A group of mine clearance specialists of the Russian Armed Forces have been sent to the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor to take part in the mine removal operation following the breach of the city blockade, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

“A forward detachment of the International Mine Action Center of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation has been deployed to the Syrian Arab Republic,” the ministry’s press service said in a statement.

The unit, consisting of more than 40 mine clearance specialists joined by a squad of specially trained mine-detecting sniffer dogs and equipped with seven specialized vehicles, was already transferred to the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria’s Latakia Province, it said. The military specialists would be soon redeployed to the liberated districts of Deir ez-Zor for reconnaissance operations before the actual demining starts.

The forward detachment will be followed by other Russian mine disposal units, the statement said, adding that the total number of Russian specialists working in Deir ez-Zor would eventually be 175. They will have 42 pieces of specialized military equipment, including Uran-6 state-of-the-art multi-purpose de-mining robotic complexes, which were previously used in Palmyra, Syria.

The bomb disposal units will first focus on demining roads leading to hospitals, schools, apartment blocks, as well as water and electricity supply facilities and historical monuments.

It will not be their first time working in Syria, as they previously conducted successful mine clearance operations in Aleppo and Palmyra after liberation by the Syrian Army from jihadists. The Russian specialists removed around 62,000 explosive devices and cleared about 5,300 hectares of land during the operations, according to the ministry.

While working in Palmyra in April 2016, the Russian combat engineers discovered and defused “one of the largest jihadist arsenals” containing more than 12,000 explosive devices after they cleared 234 hectares of land, 14 miles of road, and 10 architectural objects at the UNESCO World Heritage site located near the city.

In December 2016, Russian bomb disposal teams also worked in Aleppo, Syria after it was wrested from rebel control. They managed to clear 966 hectares of land, made safe 2,149 buildings in and around Aleppo, including 44 schools, 38 mosques, 10 medical facilities, and swept 350km of road in the area for mines, according to a Russian Syrian Reconciliation Center report issued at that time.

They also found explosives and munitions that came from various parts of the world, including the US and Germany. “The munitions we found were German, American, Bulgarian… The amount they had was somewhat disconcerting,” Major Ivan Gromov, a bomb disposal squad leader, said at the time.

The Syrian Army, supported by the Russian Air Force, broke a three-year blockade of Deir ez-Zor in early September. </s> Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is to send 175 de-mining engineers to defuse mines in Syria’s Deir al-Zor, Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s Defence Ministry as saying on Monday.

The first detachment of 40 de-miners has already been deployed to Russia’s Hmeimim air base in Syria, the ministry said.

Syrian government forces and U.S.-backed militias converged on Islamic State in separate offensives against the militants in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zor on Sunday. </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Experts from the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces have been sent to Syria’s Deir ez-Zor, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press service said Monday.

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry pointed out that the Syrian army’s break of siege of Deir ez-Zor, supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces, was the biggest victory of Syrian government troops within the last three years.

“Over 40 experts from the leading unit of the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces, seven units of special equipment and a group of dog handlers with mine searching dogs have been transferred by military transport aircraft to the Syrian Hmeymim airbase,” the press release read.

According to the statement, a total of 175 servicemen and 42 equipment units will be sent to Syria to participate in mine clearing activities.

“First of all the bomb technicians will clear mines on roads leading to social infrastructure of the city, hospitals, schools, residential houses, water and electricity supply objects and historical sights,” the statement read further.

Last week, Syrian army made a major advance in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor breaking Islamic State terrorist group’s (Daesh, banned in Russia) blockade to the west and south of the city and putting an end to the siege of a military airfield to the east of Deir ez-Zor.

The operation to clear the province from terrorists is still underway.

© Photo: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation

 

Sputnik News

 

South Africa Today – World News – Middle East </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> In the past 24 hours, Russian aviation destroyed terrorist targets in Deir ez-Zor amid the Syrian army’s offensive to free the area around the city from the Daesh terrorist group.

“Russian aviation continued to successfully attack Daesh targets, destroying four tanks, 16 all-terrain vehicles armed with heavy machine guns, six heavy vehicles with ammunition, and two fortified artillery positions.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said that Daesh terrorists are regrouping and preparing fortified areas in Deir ez-Zor after the Syrian government troops’ advance in the Euphrates Valley region with Russian aerial assistance.

“The effective actions of Russian warplanes allowed the Syrian government forces under the command of Gen. Hassan Sukhel to continue the offensive along the eastern bank of the Euphrates River to Deir ez-Zor aimed to lift its siege.”

Daesh is transfering heavy military equipment, including tanks and pickup trucks equipped with large-caliber weapons and mortars to Deir ez-Zor amid the Syrian army’s operation, the ministry said.

“While realizing that the foothold around Deir ez-Zor is the last stronghold of international terrorists on Syrian soil, militants are transfering heavy equipment, including tanks and all-terrain vehicles armed with large-caliber guns and mortars.”

The Syrian army and self-defense units supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces have significantly advanced toward Deir ez-Zor from three directions, the Russian General Staff said earlier this week.

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 on Friday.

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. </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.
Russia sends 175 demining combat engineers to defuse mines in Deir ez-Zor Governorate.