Twelve civilians were killed in regime airstrikes in Syria’s northwestern de-escalation zones, sources with the White Helmets civil defense agency said on Wednesday.

The attacks targeted the towns of Maarat Al-Numan and Maarat Herma in Idlib province, the sources said.

Also, regime forces and Iran-back terrorist group shelled the town of Khan Sheykhun and the villages of Al-Kassabiyya, Abdin, Karasaa, Kafr Sajna and Al-Naqeer.

Some 1.5 million people currently reside in Idlib, half are displaced from other parts of the war-torn 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 cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity. </s> Twelve civilians were killed in regime airstrikes in Syria's northwestern de-escalation zones, sources with the White Helmets civil defense agency said yesterday.

The attacks targeted the towns of Maarat Al-Numan and Maarat Herma in Idlib province, the sources said.

Also, regime forces and Iran-back terrorist group shelled the town of Khan Sheykhun and the villages of Al-Kassabiyya, Abdin, Karasaa, Kafr Sajna and Al-Naqeer.

These new deaths brought the figure to more than 455 civilians who have lost their lives in Idlib since April 25.

Idlib is the opposition's last enclave. Its pre-war population of 1.5 million has swelled to around 3 million with new refugee waves after it was designated a "de-escalation zone" under the Astana agreement between Turkey, Russia and Iran in May 2017 to pave the way for a permanent political solution in Syria.

The regime has intensified their attacks on the area since April 26 under the pretext of fighting Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants holed up inside Idlib. The intermittent attacks and bombardment have killed, wounded and displaced thousands of people. 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. </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> Russia has increased its airstrike campaign on the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib in the past few days, which rights group warn could lead to a new humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

More than 100 Russian airstrikes have targeted Idlib and parts of the neighboring province of Hama in recent days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA.

The observatory, which has researchers across Syria, charged that Syrian government helicopters have also dropped barrel bombs on towns and villages across Idlib.

“The Russian escalation has a clear message to al-Nusra Front,” said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the observatory, told VOA.

“This is also a message to everyone else, including the U.S., that when it comes to northwestern Syria, it’s only Russia who calls the shots,” Abdulrahman added.

Since late April, militants have launched several military operations against Syrian regime troops, killing scores of them, which prompted the recent Russian bombardment that has killed dozens of civilians, according to local media reports.

Russia has been backing the Syrian regime since 2015, helping government forces and allied militias recapture rebel-held cities such as Aleppo, Homs, Daraa and Damascus suburbs.

Idlib is under the control of a former al-Qaida affiliate called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was formerly known as the al-Nusra Front. The Syrian province is the last stronghold of rebel forces battling the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, the U.S. has twice carried out airstrikes against Syrian regime targets, punishing Assad for allegedly using chemical weapons against civilians in Damascus and elsewhere.

The U.S., which has led a coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS) terror group in eastern Syria, does not have any military presence in northwestern Syria, including Idlib. In the past, however, U.S. officials did voice concerns about the presence of tens of thousands of foreign fighters, including al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists, in the province but cautioned against full-scale military operations, maintaining that doing so would lead to a humanitarian crisis, as the province is home to 3 million people.

“Idlib is essentially the largest collection of al-Qaida affiliates in the world right now,” Michael Mulroy, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said this week during remarks at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

“We have very limited insights as to what’s going on,” he added.

Idlib is one of several de-escalation zones in Syria that were created in 2017 after trilateral talks among Russia, Turkey and Iran to try to prevent further escalation among warring parties.

U.S. officials have urged Russia and the Syrian regime to comply with their commitments in Idlib, which were to ensure that the zones remain free of escalation.

“The violence must end,” Morgan Ortagus, State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement this week. “The United States reiterates that any escalation in violence in northwest Syria will result in the destabilization of the region.”

Turkey and Russia reached an agreement last September that prevented a planned Syrian regime offensive on Idlib and other areas near the Turkish border. Turkey assured Russia that the local rebel and militant groups, some of which are allied with Ankara, would not assault Russian and Syrian government forces.

However, HTS’s advances in Idlib earlier this year, which led to the terror group’s consolidation of power over most of the province, has put an already fragile agreement between Russia and Turkey at further risk.

One point of the Turkey-Russia deal was that Ankara would work to disarm and dislodge the jihadist group and other extremists from Idlib. But Turkey has so far been unable to implement that part of the agreement.

“Turkey has two options. The first one is to give in to Russian demands by entering a war with HTS and its allies,” said Ahmed Rahal, a former Syrian army general who is now a military analyst based in Istanbul.

“But this unlikely because the jihadists are based in a civilian area where more 3 million people live. Turkey cannot enter such a war because it would create a major refugee and humanitarian crisis. That’s why Ankara is pushing for a diplomatic solution.”

The other option for Turkey, according to Rahal, is to yield the way for its allied Syrian rebel forces to enter an open-ended war with Syrian regime troops.

Pro-regime Syrian media outlets on Thursday reported a continued military buildup by regime troops near the southern part of Idlib, in what appears to be a final preparation for a ground offensive against rebel forces.

But experts say a major offensive carried out by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally is unlikely at this point.

“I don’t think the Syrian regime would launch a large-scale ground offensive in Idlib,” said Fabrice Balanche, a professor at the University of Lyon in France who is an expert on Syria and follows developments in the country.

He told VOA the ongoing movements of Syrian government forces in south Idlib could be part of the “Syrian regime’s policy of containment” to ensure that jihadists would not be able to expand their operations into Idlib’s neighboring provinces.

The U.N. has blamed the Russia and Syrian regimes for the damage to a medical center and two hospitals resulting from the airstrikes in northwestern Syria this week.

While thousands of civilians have already evacuated from Idlib and its surrounding areas, the U.N. fears that such military activities could result in a massive refugee crisis in the region.

“Since February, over 138,500 women, children and men have been displaced from northern Hama and southern Idlib,” said David Swanson, an official with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

“Between 1 and 28 April, it’s estimated more than 32,500 individuals have moved to different communities in Aleppo, Idlib and Hama governorates,” Swanson told AFP. </s> This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense group known as the White Helmets, shows Civil Defense workers and Syrian citizens inspecting damaged buildings after airstrikes hit Maarat al-Nuaman town, in Idlib province, Syria, Saturday, March 25, 2017. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — Airstrikes hit a women's prison and a clinic in rebel-held parts of Syria on Saturday, killing and wounding scores of people amid clashes on multiple fronts between government forces and insurgent groups in some of the country's worst violence in weeks, opposition activists said.

The airstrikes, of which some activists said included Russian air raids, concentrated on the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib, the central province of Hama and suburbs of the capital Damascus that have come under attack by insurgent groups over the past week.

One of the airstrikes hit a main street in the Damascus suburb of Hamouriyeh killing at least 16 people and wounded more than 50, activists said. The airstrikes caused wide destruction in the area.

The U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said in a statement released in Geneva that he is deeply concerned by the recent escalation of violence in Syria, highlighting that it undermines a Dec. 30 cease-fire brokered by Turkey, Iran and Russia who back opposing parties in the conflict.

The statement said de Mistura had communicated with the foreign ministers of the three countries, appealing to them to exert urgent efforts to uphold the cease-fire.

Speaking after meeting on Saturday with the U.N. envoy in Geneva as part of a fresh round of Syrian peace talks, Nasr al-Hariri, the head of the main opposition delegation, lashed out at Assad's "killing machine" and both named, and showed photos of some of the victims — including some featuring graphic imagery.

"This is the fault of warplanes," he told reporters. "These are the ones who claim to fight terrorism who are responsible for this horrible massacre in Hamouna."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes on Hamouriyeh killed 16, including eight women and children, and wounded more than 50. The Local Coordination said 18 were killed and dozens were wounded.

Both groups said some people are still missing, and that the death toll could rise.

"They have been hitting Hamouriyeh for days but today they struck an area packed with civilians," said Awis al-Shami of The Civil Defense search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets, via text message.

The airstrikes come as insurgent groups have been on the offensive in Damascus and the central province of Hama for the past days. Government forces and their allies launched a counteroffensive capturing some of the areas they lost in Damascus and Hama.

Opposition activists also reported airstrikes in Idlib province hitting several towns and villages as well as the provincial capital the carries the same name.

The Observatory said a Friday night attack struck a prison run by militants, killing at least 16 people including prisoners and prison staff in Idlib city. It added that women were among the dead as well.

The monitoring group, which has a network of activists around the country, said some people were killed by gunfire as prison guards chased detainees who tried to flee after the attack.

The Syrian National Coalition, one of the largest opposition groups, said the airstrikes on Idlib targeted among other things a women's prison, saying that dozens of people were killed or wounded.

The Observatory and the Syrian Civil Defense group, also known as the White Helmets, said an airstrike struck a clinic in the village of Kfar Nubul in Idlib province. They had no immediate word on casualties.

The Local Coordination Committees said five air raids struck the city of Idlib without giving further details.

Idlib is a stronghold of Syrian insurgent groups and is regularly targeted by Syrian and Russian warplanes.

In the central province of Hama, Syrian government forces and their allies launched a counteroffensive, capturing some of the areas they lost in an attack by insurgents earlier this week.

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said Saturday that government forces regained control of the village of Kawkab and repelled an attack on the town of Qamhana.

The Observatory reported intense clashes in the area adding that, under the pressure of shelling and airstrikes, insurgents had to withdraw from some recently gained areas.

On Wednesday, insurgents advanced to within a few kilometers of the government-held city of Hama in their new offensive spearheaded by an al-Qaida-linked group.

The fighting forced thousands of civilians to flee the area, according to international aid groups. </s> War monitor says Syrian and Russian jets struck four facilities, including maternity hospital, in retaliatory assault.

At least four hospitals have been targeted by air strikes in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, killing three people and wounding several, according to a war monitor and rescue teams.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), said Syrian government and Russian warplanes conducted the air attack on Tuesday in the countryside of Hama and Idlib.

The attacks came after opposition factions led by a former al-Qaeda affiliate launched an assault on a number of government-held villages along the border between Idlib and Hama.

The raids hit a maternity hospital in the village of al-Tah and a medical outpost in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, as well as near two other hospitals in Idlib province, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

"The raids on the maternity hospital in al-Tah killed an elderly woman who was an employee of the hospital, in the first civilian death in air strikes in Idlib province since May," he said.

According to the medical charity UOSSM, which has provided equipment to the maternity hospital, the woman killed was a cleaner in the facility and other medical staff were wounded.

In a statement distributed to journalists, the charity said two sets of strikes hit the maternity hospital, setting fuel-storage tanks on fire and leaving its incubator room "totally destroyed".

The Syrian government-affiliated Central Military Media outlet acknowledged the opposition offensive just south of Idlib and said forces responded with intensive airstrikes and shelling, killing a number of fighters.

UOSSM condemned the strikes and said that "systematic attacks on hospitals are back despite de-escalation deals".

Idlib is mainly controlled by Hayet Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of anti-government groups formed in January and linked to al-Qaeda.

It is led by Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front.

READ MORE: Seven White Helmets medics killed in Syria's Idlib

The SOHR said the air strikes were in retaliation for the killing of 19 soldiers when Hayet Tahrir al-Sham launched an attack on government forces in the northern Hama countryside.

The fighting comes just days after Iran, Russia and Turkey announced they would jointly police the de-escalation zone in Idlib and parts of adjacent Hama and Latakia provinces.

Russia has already deployed military police to the other three de-escalation zones - Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, parts of the south and some areas of the central province of Homs.

The agreement excludes the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and Hayet Tahrir al-Sham. </s> There are concerns that the number of deaths could rise as the condition of some wounded civilians were critical

File photo shows civil defence members extinguishing a fire broke out after Russian air strikes hit Idlib's Ma’arrat al-Numan district, Syria on February 7, 2018. (AA)

At least seven civilians were killed in airstrikes carried out by Russian aircraft in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, local civil defense officials said Wednesday.

"During the airstrike attacks of the war planes in Ma'arrat Hurma village seven civilians were killed and 10 civilians injured, mostly women and children. In the Hass village the children and Nisa hospital was attacked," Mustafa Hajj Youssef, director of the White Helmets civil-defence agency said.

Youssef said that after search and rescue operations ended, the airstrikes started again.

There are concerns that the number of deaths could rise as the condition of some wounded civilians were critical, Youssef added.

Additionally an air observatory officer, Hilal Muhammad said that the war planes took off from Russia's Khmeimim Airbase in western Syria and conducted their first attack in southern Idlib's Urum al-Joz village after attacking Ma'arrat Hurma village.

Notably, Idlib falls within a network of de-escalation zones, endorsed by Turkey, Russia and Iran, in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Controlled largely by anti-regime groups, Idlib has remained the target of intense airstrikes for the last two months. In January alone, 211 civilians were killed in the province while another 1,447 were injured.

During the airstrike attacks in Idlib's de-escalation zone at least six hospitals and health centres were also targeted.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

Source: AA </s> Though Syria has largely been out of the headlines for over the past half-year, there's multiple indicators to suggest we could soon be headed for a major escalation over Idlib.

The last time a large Syrian-Russian joint force mustered to retake the al-Qaeda held province in the country's northwest, the United States threatened major military response (in Sept. 2018), also citing that even should so much as an accusation of chemical weapons usage surface, US strikes would ensue.

Over the past weeks both Syrian and Russian jets have conducted airstrikes over parts of Idlib in retaliation for stepped up HTS operations (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham/Syrian AQ/formerly Nusra) against government areas in a pattern of escalation that looks to continue. And now Russia’s Khmeimim airbase is facing more severe attacks via HTS rockets, mortars, and terror drones.

Russia's Ministry of Defense (MoD) confirmed two targeted attacks against its key air base in Syria on Monday, near Latakia, which reportedly involved 36 rockets. Russian officials said Khmeimim's air defense systems repelled the attacks, which they said also involved the coordination of drones.

RT News cited officials to describe "the militants used a drone to direct the fire from multiple launch rocket systems, but the attacks were repelled by Khmeimim’s air defense systems." Insurgents have long used drones to attempt to penetrate the air base's defenses. In response, Russia launched a series of air strikes across the Idlib 'de-escalation' zone, which is administered based on a joint agreement with Turkey.

Later in the day Beirut-based Al Masdar News confirmed citing Syrian military sources major Russian airstrikes in and around Idlib:

The Russian Air Force has unleashed a massive assault across northwestern Syria this morning, targeting several areas under the control of the militants in Hama, Aleppo, and Idlib. According to a military source in the government stronghold of Mhardeh, the Russian Air Force began their aerial bombardment of northwestern Syria just minutes before the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) made their push in northern Hama.

Following a series of terror attacks and insurgent shelling on civilian areas of Hama and Aleppo, Syrian and Russian forces have cited the breach of ceasefire terms as justifying the new waves of air strikes.

Meanwhile, international media reports have again begun spotlighting the potential for mass humanitarian disaster and refugee displacement as Idlib again finds itself increasingly targeted by warplanes above — also given the mainstay of al-Qaeda's force in Syria is now lodged among some three million civilians in the area.

The Washington Post on Monday said that "a final showdown" is looming over Idlib, which could bring Syria straight back into the international spotlight once again, also as both the US and Israel ramp up efforts against "Iranian expansion" in the region, and as John Bolton announced the deployment of a US carrier strike group and bomber task force to the Middle East. </s> TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The Latest on Syria talks in Iran (all times local):

Syrian pro-government media reported that nine civilians have been killed by shells fired from rebel areas south of the province of Idlib on a government-held town.

Syria state news agency SANA said they were killed when the missiles struck into a residential area in Mhardeh town in the northern countryside of Hama. Hama lies to the south of Idlib, and several of its villages and towns remain under rebel control.

Warplanes, including suspected Russian ones, hit rebel areas in northern and southern Idlib earlier Friday, killing at least five, including one civilian, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The violence comes on the day that the presidents of Iran, Turkey and Russia are meeting to discuss the fate of the last rebel stronghold in Idlib and surrounding areas in Hama.

The director of U.N. humanitarian operations is warning that if a military offensive takes place in Idlib and millions of people start fleeing, aid operations to help them will be overwhelmed.

John Ging told the U.N. Security Council on Friday this worst-case scenario "has the potential to create a humanitarian emergency at a scale not yet seen through this crisis," now in its eighth year.

He urged council members to ask the parties to cease hostilities in the Idlib de-escalation zone which includes parts of Idlib, Aleppo, Latakia and Hama governorates and includes some 3 million people, about 2.1 million already in need of humanitarian aid.

Ging also called for protection of civilians, humanitarian and medical personnel, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure as well as freedom for people to move, access for aid deliveries, and increased funding.

While donors including Britain and Germany have recently provided resources, he said, the U.N. is still "woefully short of the $311 million that we estimate is required if there is an increase in violence resulting in mass displacement."

Ging said humanitarian aid is being prepositioned inside Idlib and in surrounding areas, and "plans are in place to support up to 900,000 women, children and men that could be affected by conflict."

He warned that if millions of people flee Idlib, however, it "will overwhelm all capacity to respond regardless of plans or funding made available."

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday after a trilateral meeting between Iran, Russia and Turkey to discuss the war in Syria.

In the Friday report carried by the leader's website, Khamenei.ir, he said that the United States is worried about the formation of an "Islamic authority."

"America is concerned about the cooperation of Islamic countries and the formation of an Islamic authority," Khamenei was quoted as saying.

Khamenei added that this fear underlies America's hostility toward Islamic countries, according to the report.

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is warning Syria and its allies Russia and Iran that "the consequences will be dire" for an assault on the last major stronghold for Syrian rebels in Idlib.

Nikki Haley told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that an offensive against Idlib is starting despite warnings from President Donald Trump and other world leaders, including Russian and Syrian airstrikes against civilian areas.

"The United States has been very clear, with Russia and with the broader international community: we consider any assault on Idlib to be a dangerous escalation of the conflict in Syria," Haley said.

"If (Syrian President Bashar) Assad, Russia, and Iran continue, the consequences will be dire," she said.

Haley said Syria must halt its offensive, and Russia and Iran have the power to prevent "this catastrophe."

Eight aid agencies have called on world leaders to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, where the Syrian government is threatening a military offensive.

The agencies called on leaders of the Iran, Russia and Turkey meeting in Tehran and members of the U.N. Security Council meeting later in New York to work together to find a diplomatic solution that can protect civilians, aid workers and allow access to humanitarian agencies to the overcrowded province and surrounding areas.

More than 3 million live in Idlib and its environs, many of them already displaced by conflict elsewhere in Syria.

The agencies, including CARE, Mercy Corps and the International Rescue Committee, said the "most vulnerable" are likely to pay the heaviest price in case of an offensive. They said aid workers working in Idlib are already overwhelmed trying to provide basic needs and shelter to the province's population, which has doubled in size in recent months because it is hosting displaced citizens from all over Syria.

The U.N. envoy for Syria says any proposal to avoid Idlib becoming "the biggest humanitarian tragedy at the end of the most horrible recent conflict in our memory" must be given a chance — and he has some ideas on how to separate "terrorists" from civilians.

Staffan De Mistura is also calling for "protected voluntary evacuation routes" for civilians if they want to leave Idlib.

He told the U.N. Security Council Friday that talk of a military offensive on Idlib "is happening at exactly the same time when there is serious talk" on moving to establish a committee to draft a new Syrian constitution and encourage the return of Syrian refugees.

De Mistura said these are incompatible.

"Either we are trying to find a political way to end this war and move to a post-war political scenario or we will see this war reach new levels of horrors."

He said that's why Friday's meeting of the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey in Tehran is so important and why he will be meeting with the three countries in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday — and next Friday with Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Britain and the United States.

It would be a failure of diplomacy "if with these efforts we simply saw an increase of military activities," De Mistura said.

Turkey's president says his country does not have the "strength or capability" to host millions of more refugees from Idlib.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that a call for terror groups in Idlib to lay down arms was a strong message to them and would help halt refugee flows.

"We have to take joint steps to prevent the migration, we need to be successful in the fight against terrorism," Erdogan said.

"Turkey is already sheltering 3 ½ million refugees (from Syria). The population of Idlib is 3 ½ million. Turkey doesn't have the strength or capability to host 3 ½ million more," he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says it is "unacceptable" to use civilians as a pretext to shield "terrorists" in Syria's rebel-held Idlib.

Speaking at the end of a trilateral summit with the leaders of Iran and Turkey Putin said Russia is worried about civilians in Idlib but said Russian finds it "unacceptable" when civilians are used a pretext to "shield terrorists" and target Syrian government positions.

Russia has been a key backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has indicated its support for Assad to regain control of Idlib which is the last remaining bastion of the opposition

Turkey's president is calling for a cease-fire and an end to airstrikes amid a looming campaign for Syria's Idlib province.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the comments Friday at a trilateral meeting between Iran, Russia and Turkey in Tehran.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says "we have to force the United States to leave" Syria.

Rouhani did not elaborate on the comment, which he made while speaking about Idlib. America has some 2,000 troops in Syria.

Friday's summit may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action ahead of an anticipated offensive targeting the northwestern Syrian province.

Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to about 3 million people — nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria. That also includes an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the fight in Syria should continue until all extremists are "uprooted," especially in Idlib.

Rouhani made the comment Friday at a trilateral summit between Iran, Russia and Turkey held in Tehran.

The summit may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action ahead of an anticipated offensive targeting the northwestern Syrian province.

Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to about 3 million people — nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria. That also includes an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says America's intervention in Syria should immediately end.

Rouhani made the comment Friday at a trilateral summit between Iran, Russia and Turkey held in Tehran.

Rouhani also said that "the fires of war and bloodshed in Syria are reaching their end."

The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey have begun a summit on Syria as a bloody offensive on Idlib province looms, despite warnings from the U.S. and others not to launch the attack.

The summit Friday between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action ahead of an anticipated offensive targeting the northwestern Syrian province.

Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to about 3 million people — nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria. That also includes an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

Iran, Russia and Turkey all have their own competing interests over Syria. All also face U.S. sanctions under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Residents in Syria's northwestern Idlib province are holding mass rallies in the rebels' last bastion, protesting an imminent government offensive there and chanting against the country's ruler President Bashar Assad.

The Friday rallies came as Presidents of Iran, Turkey and Russia are meeting in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria. The summit may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action in Idlib and its surrounding areas, home to more than 3 million people. Nearly half of the area's residents are already displaced from other parts of Syria and have refused to reconcile with the Syrian government. The area also includes opposition fighters and some of Syria's most radical groups.

"Come on, leave Bashar!" hundreds of protesters chanted in Saraqeb, a town in eastern Idlib. "We will defend our revolution."

A spokesman for a Syrian rebel alliance says the least the summit in the Iranian capital can do is avert a humanitarian crisis in the last bastion for the opposition in northwestern Syria.

Naji al-Mustafa, spokesman for the Turkey-backed National Front for Liberation, said Friday his fighters are prepared for battle. But they expect a major humanitarian crisis, a large wave of displacement and a lot of destruction and death if a Russia-backed offensive takes place.

Idlib and surrounding areas are home to more than 3 million people, nearly half of them already displaced from other parts of Syria.

Al-Mustafa said his rebel alliance is looking to Turkey's efforts to prevent the attack and "to protect Idlib." Turkey has deployed 12 observations points and hundreds of fighters that ring Idlib, separating them from government and allied fighters, as part of a de-escalation agreement with Russia and Iran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have both arrived in Tehran for a trilateral summit on Syria.

The two presidents landed at Mehrabad International Airport.

They will attend the summit with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

The summit may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action ahead of an anticipated offensive targeting Syria's northwestern Idlib province.

Activists and residents say warplanes have struck areas on the southern edge of the Syrian Idlib province, the rebels' last bastion, killing one and causing loud explosions and large plumes of smoke.

The airstrikes Friday come hours before presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey meet in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria, with all eyes on a possible military offensive to retake bastion of Idlib.

Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said a series of airstrikes struck a few villages in southwest Idlib and along the borders with the adjacent Hama province, targeting insurgent posts and killing a fighter. Abdurrahman said suspected Russian warplanes carried out the airstrikes.

Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to more than 3 million people.

The spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry is calling a summit on Syria between Iran, Turkey and Russia an "invaluable opportunity."

Bahram Ghasemi wrote an opinion piece published across Iranian media on Friday that the summit in Tehran helps as all the nations "have faced similar challenges and joint threats by bullying foreign powers."

Ghasemi wrote: "The summit has double significance since all the three nations have faced ambitions and greediness of an illogical international big power." That refers to the United States, which has some 2,000 troops in Syria after its war against the Islamic State group.

The summit Friday between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action ahead of an anticipated offensive targeting Syria's northwestern Idlib province.

The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey will meet in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria, with all eyes on a possible military offensive to retake the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib.

The summit Friday, the third between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action.

Northwestern Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to about 3 million people — nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria. That also includes an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

Iran, Russia and Turkey all have their own competing interests over Syria. All also face U.S. sanctions under the administration of President Donald Trump.
Syrian government airstrikes in Syria’s northwestern de-escalation zones target the towns of Maarrat al-Nu'man and Maarat Herma in Idlib Governorate, killing twelve civilians.