The Russian Defense Ministry has denied reports of the destruction of Russian Mi-24 combat helicopters on a Syrian airbase, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday.
?€?All Russian helicopters located in Syria are performing planned tasks to destroy the terrorists. There were no losses among the personnel of the Russian airbase,?€? representative of the ministry Major General Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying by Interfax.
?€?Rumors about a destroyed division of Russian helicopters and 20 trucks are being spread by the Islamic State,?€? Konashenkov said, adding that the terrorist organization made an attempt ?€?to sell this alleged news about 10 days ago.?€?
Earlier on Tuesday, the BBC Russian-language service, with reference to experts from the American intelligence firm Stratfor, published pictures of the airbase supposedly showing the debris of Mi-24 helicopters. According to the experts, the base was damaged during attacks by the Islamic State.
?€?These burnt vehicles have been located on the base for months,?€? Konashenkov commented on the pictures. ?€?It is the result of the hard battles for the base,?€? he said.
Konashenkov criticized those who spread the reports, ironically describing them as a ?€?feasible contribution to the fight against international terrorism from Russia?€™s partners,?€? Interfax reported.
The Islamic State is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.