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25Apr18

Syrian air defenses shot down 46 missiles fired in US-led strike – General Staff

The Syrian air defense forces shot down 46 cruise missiles fired by the United States and its allies against Damascus and its suburbs on April 14, Head of the Russian General Staff's Main Operations Department Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi said on Wednesday.

"The reconnaissance and air defense systems' recording data we have obtained, the work at the scene and polls of eye-witnesses show that the Pantsyr, Osa, Strela-10, Buk, Kvadrat and S-125 surface-to-air missile systems protecting the Syrian capital and the nearby Duvali, Dumayr, Bley and Mezze airfields of the Syrian Air Force destroyed 46 cruise missiles," the general said.

Considering the missiles' flight paths and the capabilities of the Syrian air defenses, these missiles were destroyed in five interception areas: three of them are located to the west of Damascus and the other two to the east of Syria's capital, the Russian general said.

Missile strike against Syria

On April 14, the US, Great Britain and France delivered a massive missile strike against Syria without the UN Security Council's authorization. According to the data of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the missiles hit a research center in Damascus, the headquarters of the republican guard, an air defense base, several military aerodromes and army depots.

As Russia's Defense Ministry reported, the attack lasted from 03:42 to 05:10 local time. The Syrian air defenses shot down 71 out of 103 fired missiles. Three civilians were hurt in the missile strikes. The missiles steered clear of Russia's Tartus and Hmeymim military bases and no Russian air defense systems were used.

The United States, Britain and France claimed the strikes were in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria's Douma.

On April 7, a number of NGOs, including the White Helmets, alleged that chemical weapons were used in Douma, Eastern Ghouta. According to the statement published on the organization's website on April 8, chlorine bombs had been dropped on the city, killing dozens and poisoning many locals who had to be brought to the hospital.

The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed that report as fake news. The Defense Ministry added that the White Helmets were notorious for spreading falsehoods.

Representatives of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the Warring Sides held a probe in Douma on April 9 but found no traces of chemical weapons use.

[Source: Itar Tass, Moscow, 25Apr18]
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War in Syria
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