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Three Russian troops killed in Syria in late February - Defense Ministry

The bodies of the Russian military servicemen were transported to the Russian Federation

© Valery Sharufulin/TASS

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Three Russian military servicemen were killed in Syria during a shootout with terrorists in late February, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters on Monday.

According to the ministry, at the end of February, three Russian military servicemen who were returning by car after delivering humanitarian aid to an inhabited community in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province were caught in a militant ambush. "After a shootout the Russian military servicemen went missing," the Defense Ministry said.

Work to search for and trace the whereabouts of the Russian trops continued round the clock along with the Syrian security forces, the ministry added.

"After special events, the gunmen who attacked the car were identified, and the death of three Russian military servicemen in a shootout in late February was confirmed," the ministry added.

The ministry stressed that "a group consisting of more than 30 militants involved in the attack on the car carrying the Russian troops has been wiped out."

The bodies of the Russian military servicemen were transported to the Russian Federation, the Defense Ministry said.

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