Russian general denies being killed in Syria attack

A Russian general Wednesday denied reports he had been killed by rebels in Syria during an operation against President Bashar Assad's top security men. General Vladimir Kuzheyev told reporters at a hastily arranged press conference at the Russian defense ministry in Moscow that he was flattered by the attention and happy to report he was well. "I thank the media for devoting such great attention to my humble persona," Kuzheyev said in comments also posted on the defense ministry's official website and replayed on state television. "As a general, I understand that this information was not just a provocation aimed against me but also -- and most importantly -- against my country." A video released on YouTube by the armed opposition's Damascus Area Military Command claimed the killing of a Russian advisor to the Syrian defense minister and identified him as General Vladimir Khodzhev. The post showed a document with a photograph of a man resembling the Russian general who emerged in Moscow on Wednesday. It added that his local translator had also been died in the rebel attack. "This proves the involvement of the Russians in the humanitarian crimes against our people and our nation," the rebel commander said in the post. Armed opposition leaders accuse Russia of fomenting the violence in Syria by refusing to joined calls on Assad to leave power and continuing to provide weapons to its Soviet-era ally.