MOSCOW: Three Russian journalists were injured in Syria when their vehicle was shot at Wednesday after an assignment in the former rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, the Russian defence ministry said.
The incident happened in the early evening after the journalists had investigated the situation in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, which Syrian regime and allied forces have recently retaken.
"They were targeted by unknown assailants firing light arms," the Russian army said in a statement.
The journalists received medical attention and "their lives are not in danger," according to the statement, run by Russian news agencies, which added that three men had received leg injuries.
The journalists were working for the NTV channel, owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom, as well as the Rossiya-1 state television channel and Russian army channel Zvezda.
Russia is the Syrian regime's biggest international ally.
Last July a journalist with the Arab service of Russian state-owned channel RT was killed in an attack by Islamic State jihadists in the western Syrian province of Homs.
The Eastern Ghouta region, hit by a devastating offensive launched in February by the Syrian regime, was the last rebel enclave near the capital Damascus before being retaken by Syrian forces in early April.