Russian soldier dies of wounds in Syria

MOSCOW – Russia’s Defence Ministry says a Russian soldier has died of wounds he suffered in a militant suicide attack in Syria, the military’s 11th casualty since the start of its campaign there.

The ministry said Sunday that Sgt. Andrei Timoshenkov died at a hospital at the Russian base in Syria.

It said Timoshenkov was protecting an area where the Russian military was handing out humanitarian aid to locals in the Homs province on Wednesday and opened fire to stop a vehicle speeding up to the site. The car, rigged with explosives for a suicide attack, blew up, wounding the serviceman. He died the next day in a hospital.

So far eight Russian servicemen have died from enemy fire in Syria, two were killed in a helicopter crash and one killed himself.