MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. The Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed five hideouts of militants, who left the US-controlled Al-Tanf zone and took refuge in Syria’s province of Homs, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria (a division of the Russian Defense Ministry) said.

"The Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed five hideouts, used by militants who left the Al-Tanf zone and took refuge in hard-to-access areas of the El-Amor mountain ridge in the Homs Governorate," Maj. Gen. Yury Popov said.

The official also said that aircraft of the so-called international anti-terrorism coalition, led by the United States, continue to set dangerous precedents in skies above Syria, flying in breach of deconfliction protocols and violating the airspace of the Arab Republic.

Over the past 24 hours, the Russian military registered five violations of the December 9, 2019 deconfliction protocols. The incidents were related to flights that were not coordinated with the Russian side and involved unmanned aerial vehicles.

Besides, the coalition’s planes violated Syrian airspace in the al-Tanf zone 13 times in the reported period. The violations were committed by four pairs of F-15 fighter jets, two pairs of A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft and one MC-12W reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft.