MOSCOW, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Two Russian servicemen have been killed in Deir al-Zor province after Islamic State militants shelled a convoy they were escorting, the Russian Defence Ministry was cited as saying on Monday by the Interfax news agency.

The convoy was transporting Russian ceasefire monitoring military staff when it came under mortar attack, the ministry was quoted as saying.

One soldier was killed on the spot and the other died in hospital after sustaining serious injuries. Both were awarded posthumous military awards, the ministry said.

Russia said earlier on Monday that its air force was helping the Syrian army push ahead with an offensive on the Euphrates city of Deir al-Zor, where Islamic State has besieged 93,000 civilians and an army garrison for years. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Alison Williams)</s>Two Russian soldiers killed by shelling in Syria's Deir al-Zor province

Two Russian servicemen have been killed in Deir al-Zor province after Islamic State militants shelled a convoy they were escorting, the Russian Defence Ministry was cited as saying on Monday by the Interfax news agency, Reuters reported.

The convoy was transporting Russian ceasefire monitoring military staff when it came under mortar attack, the ministry was quoted as saying.

One soldier was killed on the spot and the other died in hospital after sustaining serious injuries. Both were awarded posthumous military awards, the ministry said.

Russia said earlier on Monday that its air force was helping the Syrian army push ahead with an offensive on the Euphrates city of Deir al-Zor, where Islamic State has besieged 93,000 civilians and an army garrison for years.</s>MOSCOW (Reuters) - Two Russian servicemen have been killed in Deir al-Zor province after Islamic State militants shelled a convoy they were escorting, the Russian Defence Ministry was cited as saying on Monday by the Interfax news agency.

The convoy was transporting Russian ceasefire monitoring military staff when it came under mortar attack, the ministry was quoted as saying.

One soldier was killed on the spot and the other died in hospital after sustaining serious injuries. Both were awarded posthumous military awards, the ministry said.

Russia said earlier on Monday that its air force was helping the Syrian army push ahead with an offensive on the Euphrates city of Deir al-Zor, where Islamic State has besieged 93,000 civilians and an army garrison for years.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Two Russian contract servicemen have been killed in mortar shelling by Daesh terrorists in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

"Contract servicemen accompanied a car convoy of the Russian Center for the Syrian reconciliation. When traveling in the province of Deir ez-Zor, was shelled by mortar rounds fired by Daesh terrorists," the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, a Russian serviceman was killed on site, while another one was seriously injured.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced earlier in the day that the Syrian government forces had driven Daesh terrorists out of key positions on the Palmyra-Deir ez-Zor highway.

The Syrian army supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces has been advancing toward Deir ez-Zor from three directions as part of the campaign to free the city launched in August.

Deir ez-Zor, located on the shores of the Euphrates River to the northeast of Damascus, and a military airfield near the city have been besieged by Daesh for over three years, with food and ammunition only being delivered by air, while helicopters from the city of Qamishli have been evacuating the wounded and delivering essential supplies to the city's population.

The lifting of the siege of Deir ez-Zor will lead to the complete defeat of the most combat-effective formations of the Daesh terrorist group in Syria, the chief of the Russian General Staff's Main Operational Directorate said earlier.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Two Russian contract servicemen have been killed in a mortar shelling by Daesh terrorists in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

“Contract servicemen accompanied a car convoy of the Russian Center for the Syrian reconciliation. When traveling in the province of Deir ez-Zor, it was shelled by mortar rounds fired by Daesh terrorists,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, a Russian serviceman was killed on the site, while another one was seriously injured.

“The wounded serviceman was promptly taken to a hospital where Russian military doctors fought for his life, but his injuries proved to be mortal,” the statement said.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced earlier in the day that the Syrian government forces had driven Daesh terrorists out of key positions on the Palmyra-Deir ez-Zor highway.

The Syrian army supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces has been advancing toward Deir ez-Zor from three directions as part of the campaign to free the city launched in August.

Deir ez-Zor, located on the shores of the Euphrates River to the northeast of Damascus, and a military airfield near the city have been besieged by Daesh for over three years, with food and ammunition only being delivered by air, while helicopters from the city of Qamishli have been evacuating the wounded and delivering essential supplies to the city’s population.

The lifting of the siege of Deir ez-Zor will lead to the complete defeat of the most combat-effective formations of the Daesh terrorist group in Syria, the chief of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate said earlier.</s>Two Russian servicemen have been killed in mortar shelling conducted by Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL) terrorists, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed.

“The contract soldiers were escorting a vehicle convoy of the Russian Center for Reconciliation,” RIA Novosti reported a ministry official as saying, adding that the convoy was subjected to “mortar shelling by Islamic State terrorists while moving through the Deir ez-Zor province.”

One soldier was killed at the scene while the second one suffered severe injuries in the shelling and succumbed to his wounds in the hospital. Both servicemen were recommended for decoration posthumously, the ministry added.

The incident took place as the Syrian Army pushes forward with its offensive seeking to liberate the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, the capital of the similarly-named province, where the shelling occurred.

The province’s governor, Mohammed Ibrahim Samra, told Reuters earlier Monday that the governmental forces could break the siege and enter the city as soon as “in 24-48 hours.”

According to some reports, some units of the Syrian Army are just 10 kilometers away from the military base of the governmental forces located in the western neighborhood of the city.

The Russian Defense Ministry previously stated that breaking the blockade of Deir ez-Zor will mark the defeat of the last capable grouping of IS terrorists in Syria. “Defeating ISIL in the Deir ez-Zor region and lifting the blockade of the city will signify a strategic defeat of the international terrorist group in Syria,” the ministry said.

The Russian Air Force also intensified its air strikes targeting the terrorists’ positions in the area. The Russian warplanes made 80 sorties over the last 24 hours and “destroyed two tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, more than 10 all-terrain vehicles with heavy weapons mounted on them,” the ministry said earlier Monday, adding that 70 terrorists were killed and injured in the air strikes.

In the meantime, the Syrian SANA news agency reported that the Syrian Air Forces successfully destroyed Islamic State headquarters in the Hweika neighborhood in western Deir ez-Zor, killing at least nine commanders of the terrorists.</s>Two Russian soldiers reported killed by shelling in Syria

Image from video released by Russia's Defence Ministry on September 1, 2017 shows missiles hitting vehicles said to be Islamic State targets on a road in Deir al-Zor province, Syria. — Russian Defence Ministry handout via ReutersMOSCOW, Sept 5 — Two Russian servicemen have been killed in Deir al-Zor province after Islamic State militants shelled a convoy they were escorting, the Russian Defence Ministry was cited as saying yesterday by the Interfax news agency.

The convoy was transporting Russian ceasefire monitoring military staff when it came under mortar attack, the ministry was quoted as saying.

One soldier was killed on the spot and the other died in hospital after sustaining serious injuries. Both were awarded posthumous military awards, the ministry said.

Russia said earlier yesterday that its air force was helping the Syrian army push ahead with an offensive on the Euphrates city of Deir al-Zor, where Islamic State has besieged 93,000 civilians and an army garrison for years. — Reuters</s>The Russian defense ministry says two Russian troops have been killed in shelling in Syria's east.

The ministry's statement quoted by Russian news agencies late on Monday said the two men died when a convoy escorting Russian cease-fire monitoring staff came under mortar fire outside the eastern city of Deir el-Zour.

The ministry said one man died on the spot and the other died later of wounds in a hospital.

Russia has been providing air cover for Syrian President Bashar Assad's offensive against Islamic State group militants since 2015. The Russian defense ministry said Monday that Russian jets had made 80 flights to back Assad's offensive on Deir el-Zour, a key city that has been under IS siege for three years.</s>Moscow: Two Russian soldiers have been killed by artillery fire from the Islamic State group in Syria's eastern province of Deir Ezzor, where the army is battling jihadists, Russia's defence ministry said on Monday.

One serviceman was killed instantly and a second died from his wounds in hospital, according to a ministry statement quoted by Russian news agencies.

The soldiers were travelling with a convoy that was hit by "mortar fire from Islamic State terrorists", according to the ministry.

Moscow announced earlier on Monday that it was providing support to Syrian government forces in their push to take Deir Ezzor, one of the last remaining cities controlled by the jihadists.

Russia intervened in Syria's six-year-old civil war in September 2015 on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's government, and has conducted thousands of air strikes against targets it labels as "terrorists".

It also has a troop presence on the ground and the two soldiers reported killed on Monday bring to 34 the number of Russian service personnel killed in Syria, according to defence ministry figures.</s>Two Russian contract soldiers were killed in Syria in mortar shelling by Islamic State terrorists, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Monday. According to the ministry, the servicemen were escorting a motor convoy of the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties.

“The motor convoy came under mortar shelling by Islamic State terrorists in the province of Deir ez-Zor. As a result of shelling, one serviceman was killed and another one was badly wounded. The wounded serviceman was promptly taken to hospital but died of deadly wounds, despite efforts taken by medics,” the ministry report said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday that the Islamic State carried out a violent attack in the south-eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, where violent clashes are taking place accompanied by explosions which shook the area, likely to be caused by an exploding booby-trapped vehicle.

This ISIS counter attack follows dozens of raids by Russian and US-led coalition warplanes on the areas controlled by ISIS in the western countryside of Deir ez-Zor city.
Two Russian soldiers, escorting the military staff ceasefire monitoring convoy, are killed in Deir ez-Zor Province by ISIL shelling.