Beirut: At least 18 civilians were killed and 40 wounded in “probably Russian” air strikes on a rebel-held town in northwestern Syria on Sunday, a monitoring group said.
The strikes hit the Idlib province town of Ariha, which is controlled by the Army of Conquest, a rebel alliance of mainly Islamist groups, including Al Qaida affiliate Al Nusra Front, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Several areas of the town were hit and rescue operations are under way with several critically wounded, the Britain-based group said.
The Army of Conquest alliance seized Ariha in May after heavy fighting with regime forces.
A longtime ally of Damascus, Moscow escalated its support to President Bashar Al Assad on September 30 with an air campaign aimed at bolstering regime positions and backing ground operations by Syrian government troops.
Moscow says it targets Daesh and other “terrorists”, but critics accuse it of targeting moderate and Islamist rebel fighters more than Daesh.
Syria’s neighbours have charged that Russian planes have strayed into their airspace on multiple occasions during the campaign.
In early November, apparent Russian air strikes killed at least 11 civilians in two towns in Idlib province, the Observatory said.
More than 250,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011.
