Russian general killed in Syria explosion

An improvised roadside bomb exploded 15 km from the city of Deir ez-Zor when a Russian military convoy was returning to its base after a humanitarian mission on August 18, the ministry’s press office said.

"Three Russian servicemen were wounded in the blast. During the evacuation and the provision of medical assistance, a Russian senior military adviser in the rank of a major-general died of heavy wounds," TASS cited the press office as saying.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recommended conferring a state decoration on the killed officer posthumously. Russia’s Defense Ministry will also provide all necessary assistance to the killed officer’s family, the statement says.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on September 24, 2017 that the head of the group of Russian military advisers in Syria, Lieutenant-General Valery Asapov was killed near Deir ez-Zor.