MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s military said on Monday it had shot down an unidentified drone that came close to its Syrian air base at Hmeimim, RIA news agency said, citing the Russian Defence Ministry.

“There are neither casualties nor physical damage. Russia’s Hmeimim air base is operating as normal,” it said.

The British-based war monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said explosions had been heard near the base and appeared to have come from Russian air defenses confronting an attack.(This version of the story was refiled to change spelling of Hmeimim air base throughout to conform with Reuters style)