Some 133,000 Militants Killed in five years' Ops in Syria - Russian Defense Minister

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu revealed 133,000 militants were killed during their military’s five-year long operations in Syria.

“865 gang leaders and more than 133,000 militants have been eliminated. This number includes 4,500 immigrants from the Russian Federation and the CIS countries,” Shoigu was quoted as saying by Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper run by Russian Ministry of Defense.

Russia launched its Syrian ops on September 30, 2015. The minister added that Russian pilots flew over 44,000 sorties in the war-torn country.

“Over 133,500 terrorist facilities were destroyed in airstrikes and cruise missile attacks,” he acknowledged.

The “active phase” of Russian military’s Syrian ops, Shoigu said, lasted 804 days - from September 30, 2015 to December 11, 2017.

"With the support of Russian military, the Syrian armed forces liberated 1,024 settlements from terrorists, as a result of which 88% of the country's territory passed under the control of government troops and militia units," Shoigu claimed.