Militants "tried to attack Hmeymim base in Syria 12 times over a month"

PanARMENIAN.Net - The head of Russia’s Reconciliation Centre in Syria said on Wednesday, May 1 that militant groups acting in the Idlib de-escalation zone haven't ceased their attempts to attack Russia’s Hmeymim base and Syrian government troops, Sputnik reports.

The militants attempted to shell Hmeymim airbase using multiple-launch rocket systems as well as drones twelve times over the past month, Russian military said, adding that all the attacks were repelled and there was no no materiel damage as a result of the shellings.

The head of the Russian Centre for Syrian Reconciliation also said that twelve unmanned aerial vehicles had been downed by Russian defences.

In March, Russian Defence Ministry stated that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group, linked to Al-Nusra Front, had been planning an attack on the Russian Hmeymim Air Base in Syria that used attack drones, which was consequently pre-empted by the Russian Air Force, which conducted an air raid on a warehouse where the group was storing the drones intended for the attack.

Idlib-based militants have been trying to use drones in their attacks on Russia's Hmeymim Air Base but these are getting shot down by Russian air defence systems.