What happened

An attack on Russia's Khmeimim airbase in Latakia province on the night of 31 December 2017 killed two Russian servicemen and wounded others, according to Russia's Ministry of Defense, which attributed it to mortar fire from a mobile militant group and said no aircraft were damaged. Independent Russian reporting by Kommersant, however, cited sources describing roughly a dozen fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters damaged, including photographic evidence later published showing a Su-24 Fencer with shrapnel damage and a mangled tail section; the Defense Ministry called the Kommersant report 'fake.' No group claimed responsibility. This is a distinct incident from the drone-swarm attack on the same base six days later, on 6 January 2018, recorded separately on this site.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.