Russian planes have not intervened in Syria's Eastern Ghouta

MOSCOW: The Russian military said its planes had not taken part in the Syrian regime's assault in Eastern Ghouta where a monitoring group says airstrikes killed 80 civilians in rebel-held zones on Friday.

"The claims of the SOHR (Syrian Observatory of Human Rights)... on the so-called Russian strikes in Eastern Ghouta are only one more piece of 'fake' (news)," Russia's defence ministry said, according to news agencies.

"Russian aviation has no military mission in Eastern Ghouta and has not undertaken any" in this region, it added.