Moscow on Tuesday angrily ordered foreign military attaches in the country to confirm or refute "outrageous" Western media reports that Russian air strikes have caused civilian deaths in Syria, AFP reports.
Deputy defense minister Anatoly Antonov contacted the military attaches of several Western countries as well as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and NATO over international media coverage of the four-week-old bombing campaign, the defense ministry said.
"We are accused not only of hitting the 'moderate' opposition but also civilian targets such as hospitals and also mosques and schools," a ministry statement quoted Antonov as saying.