The Russian military has denied reports that four of its soldiers were killed in Syria.
Arab media reported earlier that four Russian servicemen may have been killed by Turkish-backed rebels in the northwestern Syrian province of Hama.
“Not one Russian soldier has died in the Syrian Arab Republic in recent memory,” the Russian Defense Ministry was quoted as saying in a statement Thursday by Interfax.
Estimates vary between 112 and 175 Russian soldiers killed in Syria since Moscow intervened in the country’s civil war backing government forces in 2015.
The Russian military said earlier on Wednesday that militants had attempted at least 12 armed attacks on a Russian air base further west of Hama since early April.
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