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DAMASCUS, Oct. 27 (AP) Syrian state media reported Wednesday that Syrian and Russian troops conducted joint military exercises of ground and air forces in Syria.
A video released by the Syrian Defense Ministry showed Russian and Syrian troops simulating attacks on enemy positions under the cover of shelling and airstrikes by warplanes and helicopters.
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Paratroopers also took part in the war game, taking over positions overlooking the hills.
Lieutenant General Alexander Chaiko, commander of Russian forces in Syria, and Syrian Defense Minister General Ali Mahmoud Abbas attended the exercise.
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Russia is a major backer of President Bashar al-Assad and has a broad presence in Syria, where the 11-year conflict has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half of the country’s prewar population.
Russia’s military intervention in Syria in September 2015 helped turn the balance of power in favor of Assad’s army.
Such joint exercises are not uncommon in Syria.
In June, Syrian and Russian air forces conducted exercises in various parts of the country, including on the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The two countries also conducted drills a week before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, the Russian military deployed long-range nuclear bombers and fighter jets, carrying state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles, to Syria for massive naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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