Russia says claims its jets hit Syria's Palmyra 'absolute lie'

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian defense ministry on Tuesday angrily dismissed reports that its planes had launched air strikes against the Syrian city of Palmyra as false, the TASS news agency reported. "All reports by foreign media that Russian planes allegedly struck the city of Palmyra are an absolute lie," Major-General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the ministry, was quoted as saying. "Our planes in Syria do not strike populated areas and especially ones with architectural monuments." Syrian state television and a monitoring group said earlier on Tuesday that Russian jets had hit Islamic State targets in Palmyra. (Reporting by Alex Winning; Editing by Andrew Osborn)