Airstrikes in Syria's Idlib province leaves scores dead and injured

Airstrikes in Syria's Idlib province leaves scores dead and injured
The death toll from air raids on Syria's Idlib province has risen to 38, with dozens more injured in the the opposition province.
2 min read
08 June, 2018
Five children were among those killed in Idlib [AFP]

At least 38 civilians have been killed in Syrian overnight airstrikes on an opposition province, which are believed to have been carried out by Russia.

The raids - which hit a residential zone in the area of Zardana in Idlib - also wounded more than 70 people. Five children were among those killed the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported.

Volunteers searched in the early hours through the rubble for bodies, reported an AFP correspondent. Dozens of wounded were taken to the local hospital, including women, children, elderly and rescue volunteers.

Most of Idlib province lies beyond the regime's control and is held by an array of rebel groups.

Zardana is largely controlled by rebels, with a small presence of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - an alliance led by Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate.

More than 2 million people in Idlib currently need humanitarian assistance, including hundreds of thousands of Syrians evacuated from cities captured by the regime in recent months.

The Syrian regime now controls about half the country's territory, after Russia intervened on its ally President Bashar al-Assad's side.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed since the war's outbreak in 2011, mostly by the regime and its powerful allies. Millions have also been displaced both at home and abroad.

The brutal tactics pursued mainly by the regime, which have included the use of chemical weapons, sieges, mass executions and torture against civilians, have led to war crimes investigations.