Video AP visits Russian air base in Latakia

(20 Jan 2016) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY


++THIS MATERIAL WAS FILMED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE RUSSIAN MILITARY ON A MEDIA TOUR OF THE AIR BASE++

AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Hemeimeem - 20 January 2016

1. Banner reading (English): "Bassel Alassad International Airport", photo of Syrian President Bashar Assad, at Syrian air base

2. Russian fighter jet taking off

3. Various of Russian military officers working on military aircraft

4. Pan of bombs

5. Su-34 bombers on runway

6. Pilot checking missile mount

7. Various of Russian soldiers at Syrian air base

8. Su-24 bomber taxiing

9. Warplane preparing for take off

10. Journalists and military

11. Warplane taking off

12. Mi-24 helicopter flying, zoom out to Russian officers by boxes with humanitarian aid

13. Humanitarian supplies being loaded into the Il-76 transport plane

14. Close up of note reading (Russian): "For Syrian friends"

15. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman talking to journalists

16. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Major General Igor Konashenkov, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman:

"This cargo will be airdropped with Russian parachute platforms over the city of Deir el-Zour that has been blockaded by IS terrorists for four years."

17 . Armed military officer walking on the runway, helicopter in background

18. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Major General Igor Konashenkov, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman:

"As of today, over 250 villages and towns were freed by the (Syrian) government forces (backed by Russia) from the IS group and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists for the first time in the four years of this war. People started to come back and to build their homes again. It's thousands of square kilometres (miles) of territories that have been retaken from the terrorists."

19. Armed military officer standing on runway, Il-76-MD transport plane in background

20. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Major General Igor Konashenkov, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman:

"I think that today there is not a single army in the world that would talk about its military operation so thoroughly, with facts, numbers, with objective data control (like the Russian army in Syria). I'd like to stress, it's (an operation) against international terrorism in this region. That is an evil dangerous not only for our country or for Syria, it's a global problem."

21. Il-76-MD transport plane taking off

22. Su-34 bomber landing

STORYLINE:

Russia's heavy airstrikes in Syria continued on Wednesday, days ahead of the hoped-for start of talks on how to end one aspect of the country's five-year-old war, where government forces fight rebels, and militants including the extremist Islamic State group which has seized substantial stretches of territory.

Helicopter gunships swept low around the Hemeimeem base on the Syrian coast as warplanes took off one after another during a media visit to the base.

Since The Associated Press first visited the base in October, the Russian military has put a second runway into service and has deployed powerful S-400 air defence weapons.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that thanks to Russian support Syrian government forces have retaken about 250 villages and towns from the extremists, that allowed some of their residents to move back into their towns and rebuild their homes.

Since Russia launched its bombing campaign in Syria on 30 September, its warplanes have flown over 5,700 missions.

The number is remarkable for a force comprising just a few dozen warplanes.

The Russian military has insisted it is targeting the Islamic State group and other extremists and has angrily dismissed Western accusations that it is hitting moderate rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad.

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