MOSCOW, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Defence Ministry denied Tuesday a report that warplanes of its Aerospace Force had carried out strikes in the ceasefire zone in Syria's northwestern Idlib province.
Since the beginning of the ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone, the Russian Aerospace Force and the Syrian Air Force have not carried out any combat missions to hit targets on the ground, the ministry's Zvezda broadcasting service said.
Earlier on Tuesday, western media reported, quoting the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor and a spokesman for the Jaish al-Nasr rebel faction, that Russian warplanes allegedly carried out two airstrikes in the Jabal al-Akrad mountain range near the western Latakia coast.
Zvezda recalled that on Aug. 31, at the initiative of Russia and Turkey, the Syrian army unilaterally announced a ceasefire in the entire Idlib de-escalation zone, and combat flights of Russian and Syrian warplanes have since halted.
On Aug. 31, after the ceasefire came into effect, the U.S.-led coalition in Syria carried out an air strike against leaders of al-Qaida terrorist group in Idlib, reportedly killing at least 50 rebels.
