Russian Military Bases In Syria Targeted By Drones

Russia's Defence Ministry has said its air base and naval station in Western Syria has come under attack from weaponised drones.

The Ministry claims its bases in the city of Tartus have seen at least 13 attempted attacks since the January 6.

According to the Ministry, seven of the drones were shot down.

Another three landed outside of their base, and others detonated when they crashed.

The Ministry added that no damage was done to the bases.

In a statement released on their Facebook page, the Ministry claimed to have decoded the data from the drones and found that they were launched roughly 30 miles away using a GPS guidance system.

The statement went on to say:

"Russian specialists are determining supply channels, through which terrorists had received the technologies and devices, as well as examining type and origin of explosive compounds used in the IEDs".

A monitoring group based in the UK called the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, claimed the attacks were carried out by an Islamist rebel faction.

The faction has allegedly targeted the air base a number of times since the 31st of December and operates in rural Latakia province, southwest of Idlib.

The offensive in southern parts of the Idlib province comes amid intense air strikes and shelling which have claimed the lives of 21 people since Saturday, according to the Observatory.