MOSCOW. Aug 3 (Interfax) - Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft and special operations units of the Syrian army have drilled neutralizing terrorists who seized a populated community in Syria's Hama province, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
"According to the exercise scenario, the enemy tried to mount an offensive on sites where government forces were deployed and seized a populated area with civilians," the statement said.
Command of the Russian group of forces and the Syrian army decided to conduct an overnight joint landing operation to free the community, it said.
"Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets and Su-24 bomber aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces together with artillery units of the Syrian Armed Forces delivered a strike against critical enemy targets. Kamov Ka-52 attack helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed the mock terrorists' armored hardware and fortified firing positions," it said.
After this, servicemen of the 25th Special Operations Division deployed with their weapons from an altitude of 1,500-3,000 meters using Russian Arbalet-2 parachutes and abseiled from Mil Mi-8AMTSh army aviation helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Using highly maneuverable vehicles and armored hardware, they stormed the populated area, neutralizing the "terrorists", the statement said.