Earlier, a new batch of humanitarian aid prepared jointly by Russia and Syria was delivered to the Syrian city of Deir el-Zour (ez-Zor), besieged by Daesh militants.
Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups, such as Daesh, which is banned in a range of countries, including Russia.
According to Siege Watch, a joint initiative of the Netherlands-based aid group PAX and the Washington-based Syria Institute, there are well over 1,000,000 Syrians under siege in various locations in the country.
Russia has been launching airstrikes against Daesh targets in Syria at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad since late September 2015. A US-led international coalition has been launching airstrikes against Daesh in Syria since September 2014, without the approval of Damascus or the United Nations.
