At least nine civilians were killed and 14 others injured in fresh regime airstrikes in the de-escalation zones in northwestern Syria on Tuesday.

The attacks targeted residential areas in the towns of Jisr al-Shughur, Khan Shaykhun, Maar Shoreen, Hantoteen and Ain Al Bardeh in Idlib province, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent on the ground.

Turkey and Russia inked a deal in Sochi for a buffer zone in September to prevent a massive regime offensive on the Idlib region near the Turkish border.

Following eight months of calm provided by the Sochi deal, the Assad regime intensified its attacks starting April 26 under the pretext of fighting Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants holed up in Idlib.

The offensive has displaced over 300,000 within the opposition-held area and killed hundreds, including medical staff. Residential areas have been destroyed by indiscriminate attacks, while numerous educational facilities, health facilities and residential areas have collapsed or have become unusable after being targeted by bombs.

Aid agencies say the scale of bombardment in the northwest risks further humanitarian disaster, hundreds of thousands of people have already fled toward the Turkish border. </s> A Turkey Armed Forces convoy is seen at a highway between Maaret al-Numan and Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province, Syria, Monday, Aug. 19, 2019. The Turkish Defense Ministry says airstrikes have targeted a Turkish military convoy in Syria, killing at least three civilians and wounding 12 others in Monday's attack that occurred while the convoy was heading toward a Turkish observation post in the rebel-held stronghold of Idlib. (Murat Kibritoglu/DHA via AP)

A Turkey Armed Forces convoy is seen at a highway between Maaret al-Numan and Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province, Syria, Monday, Aug. 19, 2019. The Turkish Defense Ministry says airstrikes have targeted a Turkish military convoy in Syria, killing at least three civilians and wounding 12 others in Monday's attack that occurred while the convoy was heading toward a Turkish observation post in the rebel-held stronghold of Idlib. (Murat Kibritoglu/DHA via AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — The main insurgent group in the Syrian province of Idlib pulled out of a key rebel town as government forces advanced in the area on Tuesday amid intense bombardment and airstrikes, a militant group and opposition activists said.

As the militants withdrew, government troops moved into northern and western neighborhoods of Khan Sheikhoun, marking a significant gain for President Bashar Assad’s forces as they try to chip away at territory controlled by the opposition in Idlib. The northwestern province, dominated by an al-Qaida-linked faction, is the last major rebel-held bastion in Syria.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Syria’s main al-Qaida-linked faction, said in a statement that its fighters carried out “a re-deployment,” withdrawing to areas south of the town of Khan Sheikhoun. From there, they would continue to defend the territory, it said.

Syrian state TV said government troops have expanded their presence in the Khan Sheikhoun area, without giving further details.

“The victories that were achieved show the determination of the people and the army to strike terrorists, until all parts of Syria are liberated,” Assad said, according to comments released by his office.

The withdrawal is a blow to the opposition. Syrian government forces have been on the offensive in Idlib and northern parts of Hama province since April 30, forcing nearly half a million people to flee to safer areas further north. The fighting also killed more than 2,000 people, including hundreds of civilians.

After months of intense bombardment, the insurgents’ defenses appear to be crumbling as they are now losing ground at a much faster pace compared with the first three months of the government push.

In the long-running Syrian civil war, now in its ninth year, the northwestern region — where Turkish, Russian, U.S. and Iranian interests are at stake — has taken center stage in the conflict.

The latest government gains come as NATO allies Turkey and the U.S. are discussing setting up a buffer inside Syria — one that Ankara wants to push Syrian Kurdish fighters it considers terrorists further to the east.

There has been speculation, meanwhile, that Russia and Turkey, which back rival sides in Syria’s conflict, have reached an agreement that would allow the Syrian army to retake parts of Idlib and reopen a highway that links the capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest.

Khan Sheikhoun, which had been held by militants since 2014, sits on that highway.

After the capture of Khan Sheikhoun, Syrian troops are likely now to move north toward Maaret al-Numan, another town on the highway that has been subjected to intense airstrikes over the past days. Opposition activists also reported intense bombardment on the rebel-held town of Jisr al-Shughour on the southwestern edge of Idlib on Tuesday.

Backed by Russian air power, Syrian troops were able to enter parts of Khan Sheikhoun overnight, according to opposition activists, and are now clearing the area abandoned by militants of explosives and booby traps.

“After fierce bombardment by the criminal enemy that avoids direct confrontation with holy warriors by implementing a scorched earth policy, our fighters have redeployed south of Khan Sheihoun,” the statement said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other insurgent groups withdrew from Khan Sheikhoun as well as the towns and villages south of the town.

According to the Observatory, Khan Sheikhoun was home to about 1 million people, nearly 700,000 of them displaced by fighting in other parts of the country, before the government offensive began in April. In recent days hundreds of civilians remained in the town according to the group that tracks Syria’s war, now in its ninth year.

The Syrian Response Coordination Group, a relief group active in northwestern Syria, called on Tuesday for a “humanitarian truce” to allow civilians who are stuck in the areas of fighting to leave. The group said in a statement the Russia and Syrian governments “are practicing terrorism against civilians” in violation of international laws.

Khan Sheikhoun was a stronghold of the al-Qaida-linked militant faction, the most powerful group in rebel-held areas in Syria. The town was also the scene of a chemical attack on April 4, 2017 that killed 89 people.

At the time, the United States, Britain and France pointed a finger at the Syrian government, saying their experts had found that nerve agents were used in the attack. Days later, the U.S. fired 59 U.S. Tomahawk missiles at the Shayrat Air Base in central Syria, saying the attack on Khan Sheikhoun was launched from the base.

The Syrian government and its Russian allies denied there was a chemical attack.

Also Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned the Syrian government against “playing with fire,” a day after an airstrikes targeted a Turkish army convoy near Khan Sheikoun, killing 3 civilians.

Cavusoglu said the convoy was on its way to provide “security” to a Turkish observation post in Idlib. Syria said the convoy was carrying ammunition to rebels.

“We will do what is necessary for the security of our soldiers ... but we are working to avoid reaching that point,” he said. </s> BEIRUT: Russian air strikes on northwest Syria’s mainly jihadist-controlled province of Idlib on Monday killed at least 27 civilians, a Britain-based monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was the highest civilian death toll in Idlib since the region was designated in May as one of Syria’s "de-escalation" zones under an accord between regime allies Russia and Iran, and rebel backer Turkey.

"The air raids struck several locations and villages in the Jisr al-Shughur area of the province bordering Turkey, leaving 27 dead among civilians, 10 of them children," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

After several months of calm, Idlib province has for the past two weeks been the target of heavy air strikes by the regime and its Russian allies, following a jihadist assault in neighbouring Hama province also covered by the de-escalation accord for Syria’s war that has cost more than 330,000 lives since 2011. </s> At least six civilians were killed by regime airstrikes in Syria’s northwestern de-escalation zones, according to sources within the White Helmets civil-defense agency.

The attacks occurred in the towns of Khan Sheykhun, Jisr al-Shughour and Saraqib in Syria’s Idlib province, the sources said. According to the same sources, regime forces and Iran-backed terrorist groups also shelled the towns of Maarat al-Numan and Maarat Herma, along with the villages of Al-Kassabiyya, Abdin, Karasaa, Kafr Sajna and Al-Naqeer.

Some 1.5 million people currently reside in Idlib, half of whom have been displaced from their homes in other parts of the country.

Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression would be expressly prohibited. The Syrian regime, however, has consistently broken the terms of the truce, staging frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone. </s> This photo provided by the activist-operated Thiqa News Agency, shows part of a Turkish military convoy heading toward the town of Khan Sheikhoun, a rebel-held northwestern town that’s part of a government offensive on the country’s last rebel stronghold, in Idlib province, Syria, Monday, Aug. 19, 2019. A Turkish military convoy carrying ammunition crossed into northern Syria Monday and moved south through rebel-held areas before it was stopped by airstrikes that struck near the highway where the convoy was moving, opposition activists said. (Thiqa News Agency via AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — The main insurgent group in the Syrian province of Idlib pulled out of a key rebel town as government forces advanced in the area on Tuesday amid intense bombardment and airstrikes, a militant group and opposition activists said.

As the militants withdrew, government troops moved into northern and western neighborhoods of Khan Sheikhoun, marking a significant gain for President Bashar Assad’s forces as they try to chip away at territory controlled by the opposition in Idlib. The northwestern province, dominated by an al-Qaida-linked faction, is the last major rebel-held bastion in Syria.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Syria’s main al-Qaida-linked faction, said in a statement that its fighters carried out “a re-deployment,” withdrawing to areas south of the town of Khan Sheikhoun. From there, they would continue to defend the territory, it said.

Syrian state TV said government troops have expanded their presence in the Khan Sheikhoun area, without giving further details.

“The victories that were achieved show the determination of the people and the army to strike terrorists, until all parts of Syria are liberated,” Assad said, according to comments released by his office.

The withdrawal is a blow to the opposition. Syrian government forces have been on the offensive in Idlib and northern parts of Hama province since April 30, forcing nearly half a million people to flee to safer areas further north. The fighting also killed more than 2,000 people, including hundreds of civilians.

After months of intense bombardment, the insurgents’ defenses appear to be crumbling as they are now losing ground at a much faster pace compared with the first three months of the government push.

In the long-running Syrian civil war, now in its ninth year, the northwestern region — where Turkish, Russian, U.S. and Iranian interests are at stake — has taken center stage in the conflict.

The latest government gains come as NATO allies Turkey and the U.S. are discussing setting up a buffer inside Syria — one that Ankara wants to push Syrian Kurdish fighters it considers terrorists further to the east.

There has been speculation, meanwhile, that Russia and Turkey, which back rival sides in Syria’s conflict, have reached an agreement that would allow the Syrian army to retake parts of Idlib and reopen a highway that links the capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest.

Khan Sheikhoun, which had been held by militants since 2014, sits on that highway.

After the capture of Khan Sheikhoun, Syrian troops are likely now to move north toward Maaret al-Numan, another town on the highway that has been subjected to intense airstrikes over the past days. Opposition activists also reported intense bombardment on the rebel-held town of Jisr al-Shughour on the southwestern edge of Idlib on Tuesday.

Backed by Russian air power, Syrian troops were able to enter parts of Khan Sheikhoun overnight, according to opposition activists, and are now clearing the area abandoned by militants of explosives and booby traps.

“After fierce bombardment by the criminal enemy that avoids direct confrontation with holy warriors by implementing a scorched earth policy, our fighters have redeployed south of Khan Sheihoun,” the statement said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other insurgent groups withdrew from Khan Sheikhoun as well as the towns and villages south of the town.

According to the Observatory, Khan Sheikhoun was home to about 1 million people, nearly 700,000 of them displaced by fighting in other parts of the country, before the government offensive began in April. In recent days hundreds of civilians remained in the town according to the group that tracks Syria’s war, now in its ninth year.

The Syrian Response Coordination Group, a relief group active in northwestern Syria, called on Tuesday for a “humanitarian truce” to allow civilians who are stuck in the areas of fighting to leave. The group said in a statement the Russia and Syrian governments “are practicing terrorism against civilians” in violation of international laws.

Khan Sheikhoun was a stronghold of the al-Qaida-linked militant faction, the most powerful group in rebel-held areas in Syria. The town was also the scene of a chemical attack on April 4, 2017 that killed 89 people.

At the time, the United States, Britain and France pointed a finger at the Syrian government, saying their experts had found that nerve agents were used in the attack. Days later, the U.S. fired 59 U.S. Tomahawk missiles at the Shayrat Air Base in central Syria, saying the attack on Khan Sheikhoun was launched from the base.

The Syrian government and its Russian allies denied there was a chemical attack.

Also Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned the Syrian government against “playing with fire,” a day after an airstrikes targeted a Turkish army convoy near Khan Sheikoun, killing 3 civilians.

Cavusoglu said the convoy was on its way to provide “security” to a Turkish observation post in Idlib. Syria said the convoy was carrying ammunition to rebels.

“We will do what is necessary for the security of our soldiers … but we are working to avoid reaching that point,” he said. </s> Militants’ defense in southern Idlib and northern Hama has collapsed.

On August 19, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the Tiger Forces and their allies backed up by Syrian and Russian air power cut off the M5 highway north of Khan Shaykhun capturing several hills and checkpoints in the area. Late on the same day, government forces overrun militants’ fortifications entering the town.

On August 20, units of the SAA and the Tiger Forces continued clashing with militants in the area. The town is about to fall into the hands of government forces.

According to pro-government sources, militants are currently fleeing their positions in Kafr Zita, Lataminah, Moerk and nearby areas.

Turkey attempted to prevent this scenario by sending a large military convoy (28 pieces of military equipment, including at least 7 battle tanks) accompanied by Turkish-backed militants towards Khan Shaykhun. The plan was to establish so-called observation point near Khan Shaykhun and use Turkish troops as human shields to defend militants there. However, the convoy was not able to reach the target.

The Syrian Air Force carried out several strikes on the convoy path near Heish killing at least one militant field commander and destroying a vehicle armed with machine gun. The Turkish Defense Ministry officially condemned the strikes claiming that 3 civilians were killed and 12 others were injured as a result of the action. Ankara claimed that the convoy was initiated to ensure the safety of Observation Point No. 9, to keep supply routes open and prevent civilian casualties in the region.

Turkey even sent F-16 warplanes to Syrian airspace to defend the convoy, but they were welcomed by Russian fighter jets hovering over the same area and retreated.

The deep cooperation of so-called moderate opposition with terrorist groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and their unwillingness to participate in a proposed peace process predetermined a new round of escalation in the Idlib zone. In the near future, government troops will likely focus on clearing northern Hama.

Filed under: Al Qaeda, Brotherhood, FSA, Nusra Front, Russia, SAA, Syria, Takfiris, Turkey, War on Syria | Tagged: Hama, Khan Sheikhoun, Liberation of Idlib | </s> The Syrian Army forces entered the key town of Khan Shaykhun in Idlib province for the first time since 2014 after heavy clashes with terrorists and anti-government militants, a UK-based war monitor said.

The Syrian troops “entered the town of Khan Shaykhun for the first since they lost control of it in 2014,” according to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The town serves as a major bastion for terrorists in northwestern Idlib province.

Reports say clashes are underway between the Syrian forces and Nusra Front terrorists. The army operations have focused on Nusra fortifications in Khan Shaykhun, leaving many terrorists dead or injured.

Idlib remains the only large area in the hands of foreign-backed terrorists after the Syrian army managed to wrest back control of almost all of the country’s land, undoing militants’ gains.

The government forces have gained more ground against Takfiri militants in the southern edge of Idlib in their latest offensive that was launched last week.

On Sunday, Syrian army troops and their allies established full control over Kfaridoun and Sabbaghiyah farms, which lie in an area between the towns of Madaya and Kafrsajna.

Earlier in the day, Syrian soldiers managed to regain control over Tal Kfar Idoun area, which is located west of a key highway that connects the capital Damascus with the strategic northern city of Aleppo.

They also managed to retake the village of Tel al-Nar and nearby farmland northwest of Khan Shaykhun on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

On August 5, the Syrian army declared in a statement the start of an offensive against foreign-sponsored militants in Idlib after those positioned in the de-escalation zone failed to honor a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey and continued to target civilian neighborhoods.

Military expert to ST: Liberation of Khan Sheikhoun in Idleb will be a direct military defeat for Turkish regime

The military and strategic expert has asserted that the liberation of Khan Sheikhoun city will tighten the noose on terrorist organizations’ strongholds in the northern countryside of Hama and it will be a direct military defeat for the Turkish occupation forces in Morek area and in the East of the city.

Retired Brigadier-General Haitham Hassoun told the Syria Times e-newspaper that the importance of Khan Sheikhoun city lies in the fact that it is the terrorists’ largest stronghold in the south of Idleb.

“The liberation of this city will lead to the recapture of the other terrorists’ strongholds in the north of Hama with less human and material cost, and it will put the southern part of Hama-Aleppo road under the supervision of Syrian army for the first time. It will also be a moral defeat for terrorist organizations on all fronts,” the expert added.

As for Turkish regime’s attempts to hinder Syrian army’s advance in Idleb battle, the retired officer made it clear that Turkey has been informed about Syrian army’s determination to liberate Idleb militarily after the failure of Turkey to abide by its obligations in Sochi talks.

“Any move by the Turkish occupation forces will be firmly confronted and this was translated into action when Turkish regime tried yesterday to send vehicles loaded with ammunition, weapons and material equipment through the Syrian-Turkish borders to the defeated terrorists in Khan Sheikhoun city,” the military expert stressed.

He underscored that the Turkish regime can’t hinder the Syrian army’s military operations, but it will go ahead with offering logistic support to terrorists without direct involvement in fighting with Syrian army.

“The Turkish enemy will not be involved in a direct battle with Syrian army because this will end in a major regional war,” Retired Brigadier-General Hassoun concluded.

Filed under: Al Qaeda, Brotherhood, Moderate Terrorist, Nusra Front, Russia, SAA, Syria, Takfiris, War on Syria | Tagged: AngloZionist Empire, Hama, Khan Sheikhoun, Liberation of Idlib | </s> Airstrikes in rebel-held northwestern Syria kill at least 8

BEIRUT (AP) — Government forces intensified their bombardment of rebel-held towns and villages in northwest Syria, killing at least eight people Tuesday, including five in an airstrike on a market, opposition activists said.

The new wave of violence that began on April 30 is the worst since September, when Russia and Turkey brokered a cease-fire that averted a government offensive on Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold. The new wave of violence has resulted in hundreds of civilian dead and injured and over 150,000 newly displaced persons, according to the U.N.

Idlib province, that is home of 3 million people many of them displaced from other parts of Syria, is mostly controlled by al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS.

The latest wave of violence was triggered by attacks by HTS gunmen that killed dozens of troops.

Opposition-linked first responders, known as the White Helmets, said warplanes bombed a market in the village of Ras el-Ain on Tuesday morning, killing five people, including three children, and wounding 20. White Helmets also said that three other people were killed in the villages of Maar Tamater and Bara.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, reported airstrikes and shelling on Idlib and northern rebel-held parts of Hama province. It said 13 civilians were killed on Tuesday alone.

The Observatory said insurgents Tuesday attacked army positions in Latakia province on the edge of Idlib killing nine soldiers and pro-government gunmen. The Observatory said three insurgents were killed in the attack.

Syrian state news agency SANA said troops were pounding insurgents' positions "in retaliation for their violations of the truce."

An HTS military commander known as Abu Khaled al-Shami said in comments posted online that the looming battle "will be decisive and we will use all our capabilities that will surprise the enemy."

On Monday, Syrian troops captured the village of al-Bani and the nearby Othman hill in the northern countryside of Hama province. </s> The View From Khan Shaykhun: A Syrian Describes The Attack's Aftermath

For Syrian activist Samer al-Hussein, Tuesday morning started much like any other.

"We woke up," he says, "as usual, to the sounds of warplanes that barely ever leave the skies of Idlib Province."

He got word from fellow opposition activists that new strikes had targeted a nearby town, Khan Shaykhun. The 28-year-old prepared to leave his wife and sons — a toddler and a newborn — and head to the scene.

As they had many times before, he and other activists planned to document what happened, record the names of the victims and try to get the word out. Six years after they started protesting against President Bashar Assad's rule, this is what much of their opposition activities have come down to.

Before reaching the town, just a few miles away, it became clear this was no ordinary strike.

Fellow activists in Khan Shaykhun, communicating via walkie-talkie, warned them that the bombs had released chemicals. They heard the word "sarin" — a toxic nerve gas — and pulled over.

"We were afraid of inhaling the smoke. We didn't want to die, to be honest," al-Hussein told NPR in a conversation over the WhatsApp messaging app. They waited for about 15 minutes, until they saw the flood of victims being evacuated past them. Then they decided to venture in.

"I saw something I'd never seen in my life," Hussein said. "Dozens of children, women, men and elderly people lying on the ground, getting hosed down with water, out in the cold. Children trying to breath a gasp of air, with saliva and foam coming out of their mouths and nostrils."

Hussein wept as he watched first responders succumb to the chemicals themselves. He frantically searched for a ventilator for one of the children, but in those moments when he was looking, he says, "was the difference between life and death."

He says he saw entire families being pulled from their apartments, lifeless. The strikes came just at daybreak, he said, "before the children would be leaving for school or the parents for work."

Dumbstruck and with little else to do, Hussein covered victims with blankets, to give them a measure of dignity. They showed no signs of outward wounds or blood.

The World Health Organization says its partners on the ground counted at least 70 fatalities, people who died of apparent exposure to "highly toxic chemicals."

Hussein shared a list of names compiled by activists, typed painstakingly in Arabic: 74 victims. Twenty-one were children.

Hundreds of others suffered from the effects of toxic chemicals in the aftermath of the attack. The WHO said area hospitals were unable to handle the flood of victims, and dozens were transported across the border to Turkey — more than 80 miles away — for treatment.

That in itself was an ordeal, activists said, with some of the wounded waiting hours to cross the border.

The WHO said that two area hospitals which should have been able to treat the victims had been "damaged" — one on Tuesday, the day of the attack, as it received victims, and the other on the previous Sunday.

Hussein said Russian warplanes were to blame for targeting Khan Shaykhun's only hospital hours after the initial attack and returning to bomb the town's civil defense center, from where first responders work.

He had been to the civil defense center just hours before, watching in horror as rescue workers stripped the wounded before they tried to hose off the toxic substance.

"Some of these people, their faces had turned yellow and they had stopped breathing," said Hussein. "As I'm describing the incident to you now, my hands are shaking. No, my whole body is shaking. We were all shaken by what we saw."

President Trump has blamed Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces for the attack. U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley threatened that the United States could act unilaterally if the Security Council wasn't willing to take action.

Syria's military has vehemently denied using chemical weapons in Khan Shaykhun or in any previous attack.

For those on the ground, the harsh statements and the denials brought back memories of 2013, when a sarin attack against the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus nearly provoked a U.S. strike. Syria agreed then to give up its chemical weapons stockpile — which it had never admitted possessing — under a U.S.- and Russia-brokered deal.

In the years that followed, allegations of smaller-scale chemical attacks have persisted, mainly involving chlorine — which is not banned because of its hygienic uses. The U.N. and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have been tasked jointly to investigate those allegations.

They assessed Syrian government forces used toxic chemicals as weapons on three occasions between 2014 and 2015. (The Islamic State was also identified as using chemical weapons in its attacks, but is not active in Idlib Province).

The U.N.-OPCW mission says it is the process of investigating the new allegations.

Meanwhile, Syria's conventional war grinds on. On the same day that residents of Khan Shaykhun were suffocating to death, the opposition-leaning Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that 34 people, most of them women and children, were killed in airstrikes elsewhere in Idlib Province, while rebel factions, led by a former al-Qaida affiliate, pressed an offensive against government-held areas of neighboring Hama Province and shelled two isolated, pro-government villages in Idlib.

Syrian government forces are in a better position than they've been in years, seizing back territory with help from powerful allies, Iran and Russia. Rebels have been pushed into surrender deals from Aleppo to Homs, and opposition fighters have been evacuated with their families and peaceful dissidents to northern, rebel-held territory. But that territory, dominated by jihadist factions and under regular attack from the air, offers little freedom or security to civilians.

Hussein says Syria needs a durable accord between all parties.

"At the end of the day, as Syrian people, we have lost a lot," he says. "We've lost our children, our women, our country as a whole. It's something hard to put into words."
Syrian government airstrikes targeting residential areas in the towns of Jisr al-Shughur, Khan Shaykhun, Maar Shoreen, Hantoteen and Ain Al Bardeh in Idlib province, kill at least nine civilians and injure 14 others.