Senior military officials at the Pentagon say the Syrian airbase was targeted because of its involvement in the chemical attack involving sarin gas, which killed over 70 civilians including women and children in northern Syria on April 4. The reports gave no further details.
An earlier report on Bordov's death came from Reuters.
"The majority of Russians, 82%, tend to consider the U.S. missile strike on the Syrian military base to be a provocation aimed at destabilization of the situation, and over 70% from all social and demographic groups agree with that".
"They were caught in shell fire. Two of our Russian servicemen and two Syrian soldiers died", Vyacheslav Pavlyuchenko, who served with Bordov, told Reuters.
North Korea accuses United States of aggravating regional tension
Pence told the ship's captain that he had spoken to President Donald Trump, and Trump "wishes he were here". They have parted from what they called the "wait and see" attitude used by the Barack Obama administration.
Moscow launched its aerial operation in Syria against terrorists, such as the Islamic State terrorist group, which is outlawed in many countries, including Russian Federation itself, on September 30, 2015 at the request of Damascus.
American officials in the security establishment reported that Assad's military made a decision to take extra precautions and transferred nearly all of their air force planes to a Russian base in the country, which is protected by an advanced anti-aircraft system.
Bordov is one of the highest-ranking Russian officers to be killed in Syria. Pavlyuchenko said Bordov commanded a reconnaissance company two years ago but he did not know the major's current role in the Syria operation.
Bordov's body is expected to be delivered to his military unit in the Crimean town of Sevastopol on Friday and he is expected to be buried in his hometown of Simferopol on Saturday, Pavlyuchenko and the person close to the fleet said.
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