A Russian military transport plane crashed in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 32 people on board, Russian news agencies quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying, an incident that sharply raises the death toll from the Kremlin's Syria operation.



Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is running for re-election later this month, ordered "a significant part" of Moscow's military contingent there to start withdrawing in December, declaring their work largely done.

But casualties continue to mount.

The Defense Ministry was cited as saying that the plane, an An-26, crashed at Russia's Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province and that initial information suggested the crash may have been caused by a technical fault.