Russian journalists who came under fire in Syria have returned to the Russian capital on Thursday. An Ilyushin Il-62M aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces carrying TASS correspondent Alexander Yelistratov and RT reporters Sargon Hadaya and Roman Kosarev has landed at Chkalovsky military airport in the Moscow region, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.
A group of journalists came under fire in Syria on Monday while on the way to the village of al-Dagmashliya, some 20 kilometers from the Turkish border. During the ascent to Zuaek hill their vehicle was struck by TOW anti-tank missiles, one of them exploded near the car. Kosarev sustained a concussion, while Hadaya and Yelistratov were injured by pieces of shrapnel. The Russians were taken to a safe place by Syrian government army soldiers who controlled the area.
According to the Syrian military, the journalists were shelled by militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group outlawed in Russia from a distance of about 2,5 kilometers — from the neighboring al-Nubi hill.
TASS condemned the attack. The agency’s Director-General Sergey Mikhailov said that the incident "showed once again that it was necessary to ensure security of journalists working in hot spots, regardless of the place and country the media belonged to."