Russian lieutenant killed in ISIS mortar shelling near Deir Ezzor

According to a statement released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday, Lieutenant-General Valery Asapov was killed after coming under ISIS mortar fire.

The statement added that Asapov, a senior military advisor in the country, was stationed at a Syrian command outpost aiding in the liberation of Deir Ezzor when he was killed.

"As a result of a sudden mortar shelling by ISIS militants, Lieutenant-General Valery Asapov was fatally wounded by an exploding shell,” read the statement.

In early September, the ministry announced the death of two more Russian servicemen in ISIS shelling in Syria. Together with Asapov, that brings the overall death toll of Russian troops in Syria to 37.

Last week, Moscow announced that the Syrian military had liberated more than 85 percent of the strategic eastern city of Deir Ezzor from ISIS terrorists.

The Syrian army’s liberation operation in Deir Ezzor is facing strong resistance and massive fire from areas where militant groups and US-backed forces are stationed.

ISIS overran large parts of Deir Ezzor province, including its oilfields, in mid-2014 as it seized swathes of land in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

By early 2015, the Takfiri terrorists were in control of some parts of Deir Ezzor and besieged the remaining parts, which were under government control.

The blockade was lifted in early September by Syrian government forces, which brought relief to tens of thousands of people trapped in the city. It is estimated that 100,000 people remain in the government-held parts of the city.


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