MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. Russian aircraft delivered an airstrike at a terrorists’ training base near Palmyra, up to 200 militants were killed and around 500 kilograms of munitions were destroyed, Alexander Karpov, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said on Monday.
"According to intelligence data, militants established a camouflaged base near Palmyra to train combat groups before sending them to stage terror attacks in various regions of the country, and to make improvised explosive devices," he said.
"After the location of terrorists’ facilities was confirmed through several channels, Russian aircraft delivered airstrikes that hit two terrorists’ shelters. Up to 200 militants were killed, 24 pickup trucks with heavy machineguns and around 500 kilograms of munitions and components for improvised explosive devices were destroyed," he noted.
According to Karpov, militants are plotting terror attack on government institutions in big cities ahead of presidential polls in Syria. "Illegal armed groups plot terror attacks and attacks on government establishments in big cities seeking to destabilize the situation in the country ahead of presidential elections in Syria," he said.
"Terrorists are being trained at training camps located on territories that are not controlled by the Syrian authorities, including in the US-controlled al-Tanf zone," he added.
He also said that no shelling attacks by Turkey-controlled illegal armed groups were reported during the past day. However, thirty-three shelling attacks from the positions of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) were registered in the Idlib de-escalation zone.
The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.