MOSCOW. Nov 2 (Interfax) - Syrian government troops stopped ISIL militants attempting counterattacks in a number of directions, the Russian General Staff said.
"It is too early to talk about an ultimate victory over terrorists in Syria. Despite considerable losses and mass desertion, militants continue to show resistance against the government troops in a number of directions. However, all their attempting counterattacks were timely stopped by the Syrian armed forces," Col. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov, chief of the main operational department of the Russian armed forces General Staff, told reporters on Friday.
ISIL terrorists keep the positions in several directions, as over several years they turned the positions into strong fortified defensive areas with an extensive network of underground passages and shelters, Kartapolov said.
According to him, the Syrian government troops had minimized use of their aviation and artillery in the fight against ISIL in order to preserve the infrastructure of the cities and protect local residents.
"Given that the warfare mostly takes place around settlements, the Syrian troops kept the use of aviation and artillery to a minimum, trying to preserve the infrastructure of their cities and prevent from casualties among civilians," Kartapolov said.