The Russian Defense Ministry says one of its generals, who was serving as an adviser to Syrian government troops, has been killed in the country’s east, according to state news agency TASS.
The ministry was quoted as saying on September 24 that Lieutenant General Valery Asapov "was at a command post of Syrian troops, assisting the Syrian commanders in the operation for the liberation of the city of Deir al-Zor," when he was “mortally wounded" by mortar shelling by the extremist group Islamic State (IS).
The ministry added that Asapov would be posthumously decorated for his service.
Russia and the United States back separate military offensives in the Syrian war, both of which are advancing against IS militants in the east of the country near Iraq.
The Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power and Iranian-allied militiamen, have gained control of most of the city of Deir al-Zor on the western side of the Euphrates River.
A U.S.-backed Kurdish-led militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said on September 20 that its campaign to capture the IS stronghold of Raqqa, north of Deir al-Zor, was in its final stages.
The SDF, supported by U.S.-led coalition air cover, has also launched an operation in Deir al-Zor Province, capturing its northern countryside and advancing east of the Euphrates River.