You're reading: Syria rebel group says killed Russian general

MMAN - A Syrian rebel group said on Wednesday it had killed a Russian general working as an adviser to Syria's ministry of defence in an operation in the western Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascus.

A video statement from a group calling itself the “Hawks
Special Operations Battalion…a division of the Military
Leadership of Damascus City and Province”, gave the name of the
general as Vladimir Petrovich Kochyev. The video, sent to
Reuters, showed what the rebels said was a copy of his ID, as
issued by the Syrian military.

The same group claimed responsibility for the assassination
of four of President Bashar al-Assad’s top lieutenants in
Damascus last month.

There was no immediate comment from the Russian authorities.

Russia, which has an estimated several hundred military
personnel in Syria, is one of the few countries still backing
Assad diplomatically since a popular uprising against his rule
erupted 17 months ago.