MOSCOW (Sputnik) — "Five field commanders were eliminated" in a Russian airstrike on the terrorist-held Syrian province of Idlib, Konashenkov said, adding that along with the commanders, 32 more militants had been killed. A nearby ammunition and explosives depot as well as six SUVs with large-caliber weapons were also eliminated.
"Special measures to find and destroy all the militants involved in the attack on Russian servicemen in Syria are continuing," he said.
Moreover, Konashenkov highlighted that the fact of the death of the leadership and junior officers of Jabhat al-Nusra from the airstrike had been confirmed through several independent channels.
On September 18, a 29-person strong Russian military police unit was encircled and repelled the terrorists’ attacks for several hours fighting alongside members of an allied local tribe until Russian Spetsnaz and Syrian Special Ops units, backed by Su-25 strike fighters, came to the rescue, breaking the enemy siege. The terrorist offensive has largely been stopped, leaving 850 militants dead and 11 tanks, four armored vehicles and other military hardware completely destroyed. The Syrian Army, supported by Russian warplanes, launched a counterattack and has almost completely reclaimed positions it lost in the Idlib de-escalation zone. Three servicemen were wounded in the attack. According to the Russian military, a total of 187 terrorist targets were hit by airstrikes and artillery fire and about 850 terrorists were destroyed.