Free Syrian Army says Russian general killed

The Free Syrian Army has announced the death of Russian General Vladimir Kojaiv, also known as Kojai), who worked as the advisor of the defense minister. His translator Ahmed Aig was reportedly killed as well. Kojaiv carried documents and maps of the Syrian army, Trend reports.

A spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that was there such a general named Kojaiv in the Russian army, nor any general with a similar name. It may be a former Russian military official or a general from some other army of the former USSR, often mistaken as Russian, RIA Novosti reports.

The Russian Embassy in Damascus denied the information on murder of the general by militants.

The conflict in Syria has been ongoing for about 17 months. The UN says that over 17,000 people have died, 230,000 have become refugees and about 3 million need humanitarian aid. Syrian authorities say that they face well-armed opposition.