Syrian president Bashar Assad has met his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, according to Syrian state media.

It is the first known trip abroad for the embattled leader since war broke out in his country in 2011.

The Ikhbariyah news channel said that Assad met Mr Putin a day earlier in Moscow.
It said the two leaders discussed the continuation of the military operations against "terrorists" in Syria.

Russia began air strikes against insurgents in Syria on September 30.

Protests against Assad in early 2011 descended into a civil war. The United Nations estimates at least 250,000 people have been killed.