DAMASCUS, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Russian air defenses were triggered by drone attacks carried out by rebels on a Russian-run air base in northwestern Syria, state news agency SANA reported on Friday.
Citing the Syria-based Russian Coordination Center, the report said the air defense responded to an attack by drones carried out by "terror groups" against the Hmeimim air base in the northwestern province of Latakia overnight Thursday.
The report said that three drones were destroyed at a safe distance from the air base, causing no damages.
The air defenses intercepted tens of attacks targeting the Russian-run air base by the rebels who are positioned in Idlib province in northwestern Syria, said the report.
Hmeimim air base has been the target of Syrian rebels' drones, which are usually flown from the nearby rebel-held Idlib Province in northwestern Syria.
The legal status of the base is regulated by a treaty signed by Russia and Syria in August 2015. At the end of 2017, Russia said it had decided to turn the base into a component of its permanent military contingent stationed in Syria.
