MOSCOW (Press TV) – Russia says the drones used to attack its Hmeimim airbase in Syria are too sophisticated to have been assembled by terrorists.
Russia’s Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said in a briefing the drones that were downed by Hmeimim air defense assets appeared primitive but had a range of 100 kilometers and used advanced technologies.
Konashenkov said such drones, which were supported by explosive devices, navigation gadgets and control systems, could not have been assembled by terrorists "without any outside help".
The official added that experts who had analyzed the downed UAVs had reached the conclusion that the assembling work had been based on "a clear instruction developed by specialists.”
He added that the terrorists had also launched the attacks based on a clear line of expert directions.
Konashenkov further added that the Russian air defense assets had over the past month successfully downed 45 drones during attacks on Hmeimim airbase located in Syria’s Latakia.
The drone attacks had all been launched by Idlib-based militants, he said, adding that the number of such attacks has recently increased.
The Hmeimim airbase is the hub of Russian operations in the Arab country and the largest base in Syria run by foreign troops.
Idlib, a governorate on the Turkish border, is one of the last strongholds still held by foreign-backed militants in Syria. A series of observation posts have been set up by Turkey in Idlib as part of a deal between Damascus, Tehran, Ankara, and Moscow to reduce fighting between militants and the Syrian government in de-escalation zones.
 
This July 12, 2018 file photo shows a militant walking near what purports to be the remains of a drone downed a day earlier in southwestern Syria.