Russians say 800 killed in failed offensive at Aleppo

General Sergey Rudskoy, chief of the main operations department of the Russian General Staff said the helicopter was shot down over an area controlled by Al-Nusra Front.

33 mostly women and children were affected in the town of Saraqeb, the spokesman told Reuters.

The group, a network of volunteer search and rescue workers also known as the White Helmets that operates exclusively in rebel-held areas, posted a video on YouTube purportedly showing a number of men struggling to breathe and being given oxygen masks by rescue workers.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he doubted the news story regarding the chlorine gas attack, saying: “It is very hard to react to such information releases”.

Two barrels of chlorine gas were dropped, said Dr.

At least 28 civilians have been killed in shelling fired by Syrian rebels over the last 24 hours in south-western districts of the country’s besieged capital Aleppo, a monitor has said.

Meanwhile, a Syrian military official says the army repelled a rebel attack in Handarat, north of Aleppo. Russian Federation said that 160 civilians left the area, a claim that opposition activists denied.

At a news conference in Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry said the USA would press on with a multi-month effort to prod Syrian President Bashar Assad and moderate opposition groups into a lasting truce and talks on a unity government.

“While Iran and Russian Federation are co-ordinating closely on the ground to advance the war, they are less bound together in terms of their goals, and there is little trust between the two over their respective long-term aims in Syria”, the report titled Understanding Iran’s role in the Syrian Conflict, said.

The helicopter came down roughly mid-way between Aleppo and the Russian air force base at Khmeimim, near the Mediterranean coast. The US has equipped some rebel groups with TOW anti-tank missiles, which can also be used against helicopters.

The Kremlin said the team had delivered aid to Aleppo and the helicopter was downed as they returned to base.

The attack happened in Saraqeb, in rebel-held Idlib province.

Pro-government forces on the ground are being supported by heavy air strikes in the area. All five people onboard the helicopter were killed.

The city of Aleppo, which is the second largest city in Syria, was in the news back in April, when a hospital was bombed, killing at least 27 people, according to an article by the Inquisitr.

The Mi-8 transporter was brought down by rebels, Russian Federation says, in northern Idlib province.

Fighting has intensified around Aleppo and its neighboring provinces since the government sealed off the final route into rebel-controlled neighborhoods of the city.

Rebel fighters and civilians inspecting the wreckage of the Russian helicopter.

The United Nations says it’s discouraging that an Aug. 1 deadline to start a political transition in Syria is passing with no action – but the U.N. hopes that intra-Syrian talks will start by the end of August.