Russia says Syrian rebels have shoulder-fired missiles

Syrian rebels have acquired portable surface-to-air missiles including U.S.-made Stingers, the Interfax news agency quoted Russia's senior general as saying on Wednesday.

Like Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia has laid most of the blame for continuing violence on armed government foes it says are aided by encouragement and arms from abroad.

Russia's military has learned "that militants fighting Syrian government forces have portable missile launchers of various states, including American-made Stingers," Interfax quoted general staff chief Nikolai Makarov as saying.

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