AKIPRESS.COM - At least four Russian combatants have been killed by militants in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, Russian Defense Ministry said.
Two military advisers died when the Syrian army battery they were directing was attacked. Five other Russians were injured and two died later of their wounds, the Ministry said.
Syria's army took Deir al-Zour city last November but Islamic State fighters remain active in the province, BBC reported.
Officially Russia has lost about 90 personnel in the Syrian civil war.
The Ministry said its forces had killed 43 militants in the fighting.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the attacks had been carried out by Islamic State fighters and that 35 pro-government troops were killed, including nine Russians.
As well as holding pockets of IS fighters, Deir al-Zour province also marks a division between areas held by Syrian government forces and Syrian Kurdish units, including the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
After seven years of war, the Syrian government, backed by Russian and Iranian military muscle, now controls much of central Syria, including the second city, Aleppo.
Rebel forces are now concentrated in Idlib.