MOSCOW (DPA) - Russia announced on Friday (Nov 15) that it has taken control of an airfield in war-torn northern Syria that US troops abandoned earlier this week.

Russian military police are guarding the airfield, near the town of Kobane on the Turkish border, a senior official said in comments carried by state news agency TASS.

"De-miners are currently checking the facility for explosive devices.

We don't know what traps and surprises the former owners of the base could have left behind," the unnamed official was quoted as saying.

The United States had used the airfield to support opposition forces in Syria's civil war, the Russian side said. Russia is the main military backer of Syria's government.

US President Donald Trump announced a partial withdrawal of troops from Syria last month in an effort to reduce US commitments in Middle Eastern war zones.'