Russia says two of its combat helicopter pilots were killed in Syria's central Homs province when they ran out of ammunition in their Mi-25 aircraft and were hit by Islamic State ground fire.
The official Tass news agency said the shoot-down occurred Friday east of the city of Palmyra, after government forces requested air cover. Tass also said that reserve units were not available in the area for redeployment to the scene as IS fighters advanced on the government troops.
To the north, meanwhile, monitors said fierce clashes erupted for a second straight day Saturday near Aleppo, Syria's largest city, where the Damascus government had promised to extend through Monday a cease-fire honoring the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.