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Russia's defense minister Sergey Shoigu has stated that almost 88,000 rebels had been killed in Syria in the three years since Moscow's involvement in the Syrian conflict.

"Over the course of the operation, a total of more than 87,500 rebels have been eliminated, 1,411 settlements have been liberated and more than 95 percent of Syria's territory," Shoigu was quoted by Agence France Presse as saying at a forum in Singapore.

The source reminds that Russia launched strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad of Syri in September 2015.

Russian air forces have carried out more than 40,000 bombing missions, hitting about 120,000 targets of terrorist infrastructure, Shoigu said.

adding: "Syrian armed forces currently control territory where more than 90 percent of the population lives."