Latakia

Explosions in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia after anti-aircraft defenses on Russian air base Khmeimim fended off a new suicide drone attack on the base, launched by jihadists from nearby Idlib, Reuters and RT reported, citing Syrian television and SANA news agency.

According to Syrian media, the drones were fired at the base from the so-called de-escalation zone, BTA reported.

AFP - Syria accidentally downed a Russian military aircraft with a crew of 15 onboard when its air defences went into action against an alleged Israeli missile strike, the Russian army said Tuesday.

The incident, which happened late Monday, was the worst case of friendly fire between the two allies since Russia's game-changing military intervention in September 2015.

Russia's defense ministry said early on Tuesday that one if its military aircraft with 14 people on board disappeared from radar screens over Syria at the same time that Israeli and French forces were mounting aerial attacks on targets in Syria.

Units of Russian military police have started to operate in the Syrian city of Douma, the head of the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria, Maj. Gen. Yuri Yevtushenko, said on Thursday.

A Russian transport plane has crashed in Syria killing all 26 passengers and six crew members believed to have been on board, the defence ministry says, quoted by BBC. 

The An-26 plane crashed during landing at Hmeimim airbase, near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, the ministry is quoted as saying by Russian media.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Sept. 25 criticized recent Russian airstrikes in the Syrian rebel stronghold of Idlib, saying the bombardments killed several civilians and moderate opposition members in the region.

Speaking a televised interview, Çavuşoğlu also warned that violations of the fragile recent ceasefire targeting civilians could put the Astana agreement at risk. 

Turkey, Russia and Iran have concluded months-long discussions after agreeing to set up de-escalation zones in four different regions of Syria, including the rebel-held Idlib, for six months, as well as a joint coordination center to monitor the truce between the Syrian regime and moderate opposition groups.
 

Russia, Turkey and Iran have agreed to set up de-escalation zones in Syria for six months, negotiators for the three nations said in a joint statement on Sept. 15 after talks in Kazakhstan.
   
The zones will include, fully or partly, Eastern Ghouta, the provinces of Idlib, Homs, Latakia, Aleppo and Hama, according to the statement.

Russian soldiers have announced that the Syrian army has liberated about 85% of the territory of the war-torn country from extremists, CNN reported.

The governor's office in the southern province of Hatay denied reports on May 6 claiming that the Turkish army would be deployed to the opposition-held Syrian province of Idlib.