At least five civilians were killed by Russian and Syrian government warplanes that targeted Syria's northwest as residents marked the holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

A local source told Anadolu Agency the five people died on Wednesday in air attacks targeting the town of Kansafra and three villages in Idlib.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor put the death toll at 10, saying two children were among those killed.

Another civilian died in shelling by government forces on the northern Hama countryside, also held by rebels, said the group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria.

Government air attacks also hit a motorcycle in the Idlib town of Maaret al-Numan, killing a woman and her two children, said the Observatory.

Wednesday's attacks come amid an escalation in violence in the country's northwest that is held by Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham.

A September deal was supposed to avert a full-out government offensive on Idlib province and adjacent areas, home to about three million people, nearly half of whom have been displaced from other parts of Syria.

But the government and its ally Russia have since late April ramped up deadly air raids and rocket fire on the region, and fighters have clashed on its edges.

The bombardment of Idlib province and neighbouring areas has killed more than 300 people since late April, according to the Observatory.

It also displaced nearly 270,000 people in May alone, according to the United Nations.

A total of 24 health facilities and 35 schools have been hit in the latest escalation, according to the UN's humanitarian office.

Analysts predict that President Bashar al-Assad and his allies will continue to chip away at the area, but not unleash a major assault that would create chaos on Turkey's doorstep.

The conflict in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands of people since it started in 2011 with millions displaced. </s> At least five civilians were killed by Russian and Syrian government warplanes that targeted Syria's northwest as residents marked the holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

A local source told Anadolu Agency the five people died on Wednesday in air attacks targeting the town of Kansafra and three villages in Idlib.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor put the death toll at 10, saying two children were among those killed.

Another civilian died in shelling by government forces on the northern Hama countryside, also held by rebels, said the group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria.

Government air attacks also hit a motorcycle in the Idlib town of Maaret al-Numan, killing a woman and her two children, said the Observatory.

Air war

Wednesday's attacks come amid an escalation in violence in the country's northwest that is held by Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham.

A September deal was supposed to avert a full-out government offensive on Idlib province and adjacent areas, home to about three million people, nearly half of whom have been displaced from other parts of Syria.

But the government and its ally Russia have since late April ramped up deadly air raids and rocket fire on the region, and fighters have clashed on its edges.

The bombardment of Idlib province and neighbouring areas has killed more than 300 people since late April, according to the Observatory.

It also displaced nearly 270,000 people in May alone, according to the United Nations.

A total of 24 health facilities and 35 schools have been hit in the latest escalation, according to the UN's humanitarian office.

Analysts predict that President Bashar al-Assad and his allies will continue to chip away at the area, but not unleash a major assault that would create chaos on Turkey's doorstep.

The conflict in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands of people since it started in 2011 with millions displaced. </s> The United States government is denying reports that its warplanes bombed a mosque in Syria in which dozens of people - most of whom are said to be innocent civilians - were killed.

Warplanes struck a mosque in the rebel-held village of al-Jinnah, in northwest Syria, killing at least 42 people and wounding dozens, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said on Thursday.

The jets struck the village, southwest of Atarib near Aleppo, as the mosque was full of worshippers at evening prayer, said the Observatory, which monitors the Syrian war via a network of contacts across the country.

The Observatory does not know who carried out the airstrike.

The US military said it carried out an air strike on Thursday against al Qaeda militants, killing several, at a meeting location in Idlib province, but it was unclear if it was referring to the attack on Al-Jinnah.

The statement from US Central Command made no mention of civilian casualties.

US government officials told NBC News that it was looking into the reports of a bombed mosque.

The US says that it has photographic evidence that proves its planes did not strike the mosque, which is located about 50 feet from its target.

The US military said it carried out an air strike on Thursday against al Qaeda militants, killing several, at a meeting location in Idlib province, but it was unclear if it was referring to the attack on al-Jinnah (seen above on a map)

Syrian and Russian military have also carried out many air strikes in Idlib and Aleppo provinces during the war.

Al-Jinnah is located in one of the main rebel-held parts of Syria, the northwest that includes Idlib province and the western parts of Aleppo province, and its population has been swollen by refugees, UN agencies have said.

Rebels in northwest Syria fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad also include groups supported by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies. </s> BEIRUT >> Warplanes struck rebel-held parts of Syria Saturday hitting a women’s prison and a clinic, killing and wounding scores of people, amid clashes on multiple fronts between government forces and insurgent groups in some of the worst violence the country has witnessed in weeks, opposition activists said Saturday.

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 Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes 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> 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> 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> Idlib (Syria News) Civilians were either killed or wounded, on Thursday, in air strikes carried out by Russian warplanes on Khan Sheikhon City, in southern Idlib.

Qasioun News reported that Russian warplanes conducted air strikes on the city of Khan Sheikhon, in southern Idlib, killing three civilians and wounding others.

Furthermore, Syrian regime warplanes carried out air strikes and dropped explosive barrels on the villages of Tariya and Tahtaya, in southern Idlib, causing material damage but no casualties were reported.

Syrian and Russian warplanes are intensifying their air strikes for the third day, where more than 140 air strike were conducted on the towns of Idlib and Hama.

Meanwhile, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and other opposition militias are carrying out military operations on the Syrian army locations, in northern Hama, and managed to capture several headquarters near the city of Maan. </s> Beirut: Syrian regime and Russian bombardment have killed 20 civilians including seven children in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said Saturday, in the latest deadly raids on the embattled opposition bastion.

Regime warplanes and helicopters late Friday carried out air strikes on Mahambel village in Idlib province, killing 13 civilians including the seven children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Another seven civilians were killed Saturday, including a woman hit by regime rocket fire on the outskirts of the town of Khan Sheikhun in the south of the province, the Britain-based war

Three members of a family were killed by a Russian air strike on the town of Morek, in neighbouring Hama province, the Observatory reported.

Idlib, a region of some three million people, many of whom fled former rebel-held areas retaken by the government, is the last major bastion of opposition to the Russia-backed Damascus government after eight years of civil war.

The region on Turkey's doorstep is administered by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but other jihadist and rebel groups are also present.

Idlib is supposed to be protected from a major regime assault by a September deal between Moscow and Ankara, but Damascus and its Russian ally have ramped up their deadly bombardment of the region since late April.

More than 530 civilians have been killed since then, according to the Observatory.

The United Nations says 25 health facilities in the region have been hit, the latest including the second attack in two months on an underground hospital in the town of Kafranbel on Thursday.

"The attacks happened despite the fact that the coordinates of this hospital had previously been shared with the parties to the conflict in a deliberate, carefully planned effort to prevent

any attacks on it," an UN official said on Friday.

"I am horrified by the ongoing attacks on civilian areas and civilian infrastructure as the conflict in northwest Syria continues," said Mark Cutts, UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator

Syria's war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests. </s> Airstrikes on a rebel-held city in Syria early Tuesday killed at least 15 people, wounded dozens more and demolished several buildings, in one of the deadliest attacks since a cease-fire went into effect last year, Syrian activists and medics said.

The airstrikes hit the city of Idlib, the capital of a northwestern province of the same name that is almost entirely controlled by Syrian rebels and al-Qaida-linked insurgents.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 26 people were killed, including 10 civilians — mostly women. The opposition-run Civil Defense in Idlib says 15 bodies were pulled from the rubble and that 30 people were taken for medical treatment. Conflicting casualty tolls are common in the chaotic aftermath of such attacks.

Opposition activists also reported airstrikes on several suburbs of the capital, Damascus.

The government and the opposition have repeatedly traded accusations of violating the cease-fire, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey and went into effect in December, shortly after the government recaptured the northern city of Aleppo.

The Observatory said it was not clear if the airstrikes were carried out by Syrian, Russian or the U.S.-led coalition that has been targeting the Islamic State group and al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria.

The Russian military denied that its warplanes have attacked Idlib. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that Russian warplanes haven’t conducted a single strike on Idlib this year.

The United Nations on Tuesday called on all parties to the Syrian war to seek an end to the bloodshed.

We deplore the loss of civilian life there as we have in other parts of Syria as the conflict rages,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at U.N. headquarters in New York. “As we see continuing civilian deaths it should redouble everyone’s determination to reach a political agreement.”

Russia has waged an air campaign in Syria since September 2015, providing a crucial boost for Assad’s forces in battles with extremist groups as well as the mainstream opposition.

The airstrikes came a day after Syrian President Bashar Assad said the European Union should have no role in the reconstruction of Syria unless it changes its policy toward the country. He said European countries that support “terrorists” in Syria “cannot destroy and build at the same time.” Assad’s government views all those fighting against it as terrorists.

In the same interview, given to Belgian media on Monday, Assad said U.S. President Donald Trump’s vows to fight terrorism were “promising” but that it’s still too early to “expect anything” on the ground. He welcomed the possibility of increased cooperation between the U.S. and his close ally Russia, saying it would be “positive for the rest of the world, including Syria.”

When asked about the cease-fire, Assad said “it’s not dead, and it’s natural in every cease-fire anywhere in the world, in every war, in any conflict, to have these breaches.”

Syria’s conflict, which began with a 2011 uprising against the Assad family’s four-decade rule, has killed an estimated 300,000 people and destroyed much of the country. The U.N. has estimated that reconstruction will cost around $350 billion.

The headquarters of Fateh al-Sham Front and the surrounding neighborhood in Idlib city were battered by at least 10 strikes at dawn, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its reports.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman initially said 10 civilians were killed, but after further verification, he said the victims included “16 civilians, most of them women and children.”

“The toll could rise because some people are trapped under the rubble and unaccounted for,” he said.

Abdel Rahman said the raids were probably carried out by Russian warplanes — allied with Syria’s government — or by a U.S.-backed air coalition.

But Russia quickly denied it had struck Idlib.

“Russian military planes did not carry out a single strike in Idlib yesterday, or this week, or even since the beginning of 2017,” the defense ministry in Moscow said in a statement.

“Any information on these strikes are well-known lies.”

Russia has waged a fierce bombing campaign in support of the Damascus regime since September 2015, a year after the U.S.-led coalition began its own strikes against jihadi groups.

Fateh al-Sham has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks in Idlib province, the only remaining opposition-held province in war-ravaged Syria.

Bombing raids against the group have escalated, including one U.S. strike in January that killed more than 100 fighters at a training camp in Idlib province.

On Tuesday, a Pentagon spokesman said U.S. forces targeted al-Qaida operatives “in two precision strikes” on Feb. 3 and 4.

“The Feb. 4 strike targeted Abu Hani al-Masri, a legacy al-Qaida terrorist with ties to the group’s senior leaders, including Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden,” Eric Pahon said.

“We are assessing the results of those strikes and will announce definitive results as soon as practicable.”

The U.S.-led coalition has mostly focused on Fateh al-Sham’s jihadi rival, the Islamic State group, but it has also hit operatives from other factions.

Rebel groups have held Idlib province since the spring of 2015, four years after the Syria conflict first broke out.
Syrian government and Russian warplanes conduct airstrikes that target Syria's northwest, killing five civilians in the town of Kansafra and three villages in Idlib, including two children.