Russia's Defense Ministry said on April 11 that two of its soldiers had been killed in a mortar attack in Syria while a third was seriously wounded, Russian news agencies reported.

"Russian professional servicemen who were in a unit of Syrian forces as instructors...came under a mortar attack from a group of rebel fighters," the ministry was quoted as saying in a statement.

"As a result of a mortar explosion, two Russian servicemen were killed," it said, adding that the wounded serviceman was being treated by military doctors.

The statement did not say when or where in Syria the attack occurred.

The latest deaths bring the number of Russian combat deaths in Syria officially acknowledged by the Defense Ministry to 29. Russian authorities say another soldier committed suicide during the first month of the operation.

Russia has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces throughout the six-year-old war in Syria and stepped up its involvement in 2015.

Based on reporting by AFP, Interfax, TASS, Reuters</s>Two Russian servicemen were killed and a third wounded in a mortar attack in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry announced Tuesday.

"Russian professional servicemen who were in a unit of Syrian forces as instructors ... came under a mortar attack from a group of rebel fighters," the Defense Ministry said in a statement quoted by Interfax news agency. "As a result of a mortar explosion, two Russian servicemen died."

The soldiers were embedded with a Syrian army unit along with a Russian military adviser.

The ministry did not specify when or where the attack took place.

This incident brings the Russian death toll in Syria to 29, according to the ministry.</s>MOSCOW, April 11 (Reuters) - The Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that two of its soldiers had been killed in a mortar attack in Syria and a third was fighting for his life, the RIA news agency reported.

The ministry said that the Russian military instructors were embedded with a Syrian army unit and -- along with a Russian military adviser -- had come under mortar fire from a group of militants. (Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Andrew Osborn)</s>Russia's defence ministry said Tuesday that two soldiers acting as military instructors to government troops in Syria had been killed by rebel forces.

"Russian professional servicemen who were in a unit of Syrian forces as instructors... came under a mortar attack from a group of rebel fighters," the defence ministry said in a statement quoted by Interfax news agency.

"As a result of a mortar explosion, two Russian servicemen died."

Medics were fighting to save the life of another Russian serviceman wounded in the attack, the ministry said.

It said the two killed were training Syrian soldiers in marksmanship along with a Russian military advisor.

The latest deaths take the toll of soldiers killed in combat in Syria officially acknowledged by the defence ministry to 29. Another soldier committed suicide during the first month of the operation.</s>BEIRUT (AP) - The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local):

Russia's Defense Ministry says two Russian officers have been killed and one gravely wounded in a mortar attack in Syria.

Russia is a staunch backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has been waging an air campaign in support of his forces since 2015.

The ministry announced the deaths Tuesday, but did not specify when or where the attack took place.

Syrian opposition activists are reporting clashes in the southern city of Daraa between government forces and insurgents, saying that government aircraft have dropped barrel bombs on the city.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting broke out when rebels launched an offensive on a government-held area in central Daraa on Monday. It said that by Tuesday, 16 pro-government fighters, including an army colonel, had been killed.

Daraa-based activist Ahmad al-Masalmeh and the Observatory said warplanes carried out raids on Daraa while helicopter gunships dropped at least eight barrels loaded with explosives onto the city.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday that the use of barrel bombs, which government forces have repeatedly employed throughout the six-year-old conflict, might bring a U.S. response.</s>MOSCOW: Russia’s defence ministry said Tuesday that two soldiers acting as military instructors to government troops in Syria had been killed by rebel forces.

“Russian professional servicemen who were in a unit of Syrian forces as instructors… came under a mortar attack from a group of rebel fighters,” the defence ministry said in a statement quoted by Interfax news agency. “As a result of a mortar explosion, two Russian servicemen died.”</s>MOSCOW, April 11 The Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that two of its soldiers had been killed in a mortar attack in Syria and a third was fighting for his life, the RIA news agency reported.</s>Feb 4 Russia has serious grounds to suspect Turkey of preparing for a military incursion in Syria, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday.

"The Russian Defence Ministry registers a growing number of signs of hidden preparation of the Turkish Armed Forces for active actions on the territory of Syria," he said in a statement. (Reporting by Jack Stubbs; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Christian Lowe)</s>The first group of Russian war planes has left Russia's Hmeymim air base in Syria and begun the long journey home, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

The group included Sukhoi-34 fighter-bombers. The ministry said each group will be led home by either a Tupolev-154 passenger plane or an Ilyushin-76 transport aircraft carrying engineers, technical personnel, and cargo.</s>Two Russian servicemen have been killed after they came under shelling in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that one more soldier remains in the hospital, with doctors struggling to save his life."Two Russian servicemen were killed in a mortar shell explosion," the ministry said, adding that one more serviceman is currently fighting for his life.The ministry has not detailed the exact place and date of the attack, nor the identities of the servicemen.Reports about the incident were released earlier in the Russian media.Reports about the incident emerged earlier this week in the Russian media. On Monday, RBC media group talked to Evgeny Zavidny, who said that his brother, Igor, together with one more soldier had been killed in an attack."They were shelled by mortar fire and two people were killed," Evgeny said, adding that Igor had been serving in the Russian Army for three years. He had reportedly served in Russia's Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia Regions.A friend of Igor posted pictures of him on Facebook, saying that he had been killed in Syria."RIP, a hero," Irina Zubova wrote in a post, adding that Igor had been born in Russia's Orenburg Region in the Urals in 1982.Zavidny's funeral will take place in his home town of Novotroitsk in Orenburg Region April 13, TASS reported, citing Galina Viskova, an official from the city council's press service.Earlier, the ministry said that a Russian soldier died near Palmyra, Syria, when Islamic State militants tried to break through an area occupied by Syrian pro-government forces. A Russian major general also lost both his legs and an eye when a radio controlled bomb hit a convoy going to an airfield located west of Palmyra in the Syrian city of Homs.In February, four Russian servicemen were killed in Syria, when a radio controlled bomb targeting a Syrian military convoy exploded, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
According to the Russian Defence Ministry, two of its soldiers have been killed by a mortar attack in Syria while another was wounded. The ministry did not specify when or where the attack occurred.