Baku, Azerbaijan, March 17
Trend:
Russian pilots perfectly performed their tasks during Moscow's anti-terrorist operation in Syria, Sputnik news agency quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying March 17.
"It was the strategic and tactical aviation that has carried out the most difficult and dangerous tasks, and military pilots have performed them perfectly," he said.
Putin announced on March 14 that the Russian armed forces had fulfilled their mission in Syria and their withdrawal would begin the following day.
Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed the lives of over 220,000 people.
Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops.
The "Islamic State" (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) and Jabhat al-Nusra are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.