Russian war planes drop 'banned phosphorus bombs' on Idlib

Phosphorous bombs were dropped on central Idlib late Sunday night, as rebel forces on the ground ready for a new offensive on regime areas in the city.

Footage claiming to show the phosphorous attack were shared by Syrian activists, with images consistent with the effects of the banned substance.

Activists said the attack caused a blaze in a shopping area of Idlib city centre which was brought under control by fire fighters.

Phosphorus bombs were also used on Saturday night according to activists.

Russian and regime war planes also allegedly dropped vacuum, napalm and barrel bombs on other opposition areas of Aleppo. 

Meanwhile the Damascus suburbs, Hama, Homs and Latakia were also been heavily bombed, the Local Coordination Committees said, leading to 59 dead, mostly in Aleppo.

'Revenge attack'

The intensified aerial bombardment comes after a successful offensive by rebel forces to break the regime's siege on eastern Aleppo, activists said.

Many opposition activists feared that that the loss of face for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his Russian ally President Vladimir Putin would lead them to rely more heavily on the one advantage they have over opposition forces – air power.

Their fears were confirmed with a massive wave of bombing this week on civilian areas, with an upsurge in intensity since the siege was broken.

Although the road out of eastern Aleppo has been secured by rebels and some food deliveries have entered the formerly besieged district, air raids mean the route out is still too dangerous for civilians to use.

On Sunday, another hospital in rebel-held Idlib province was reduced to rubble after four consecutive air raids on the medical centre. Ten people including women and children were killed in the attack while a number of other hospitals in the areas were damaged or destroyed in other attacks.

Syrian American Medical Society said 43 attacks on healthcare facilities took place in July, the worst month for assaults on hospitals and clinics since the start of the war in 2011.