Russia Says Its Syria Bases Beat Back an Attack by 13 Drones<br />8, 2018<br />MOSCOW — The main Russian air and naval bases in Syria beat back an attack by 13<br />armed drones over the weekend, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Monday.<br />It said 10 assault drones had flown toward the Hmeimim air base in northwestern Syria, while another<br />three were directed against the Russian naval station at Tartus on the Mediterranean Sea.<br />The military denied Russian news media reports that seven military aircraft had been destroyed or damaged by rebel shelling in the Dec. 31 attack,<br />although a few posts on social media showed what was described as damaged aircraft, including a mangled rear stabilizer on one military jet.<br />The Russian military said the drone attack was the first such coordinated assault it had experienced against<br />its bases in Syria, with the drones flying from about 30 miles away and guided by a GPS unit.<br />Accounts by opposition members and others in Syria said one of the Islamist factions<br />operating near the northwestern city of Latakia had launched the drone attack.<br />In its latest announcement, the Ministry of Defense said the drone attack had occurred overnight last Friday.
