Seven killed in bombings blamed on Russian aircraft in northwestern Syria

At least seven people, including four children, have been killed Friday in bombings blamed on Russian planes against the Syrian towns of Al Yaqubiya and Al Jadida, in the Idlib region (northwest), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported.

The London-based body, with informants in the Arab country, said on its website that Russian planes have carried out four bombings against the surroundings of al Yaqubiya and a house in al Jadida, located in Yisr al Shugur.

Sources quoted by the Observatory have pointed out that several victims are trapped in the rubble and added that most of them are displaced people arrived from the province of Hama (center).

Rescue teams are still working in the area to try to rescue survivors from the wreckage, although the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has warned that the death toll could rise in the coming hours.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Thursday to have shot down two drones allegedly launched by rebels near the military base of Hmeimim (west), before denouncing that “illegal armed formations in the de-escalation zone in Idlib are still trying to carry out attacks against the Russian base of Hmeimim using drones.”

Idlib province and parts of Aleppo and Hama provinces are held by several armed groups, the most important of which is Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS). Russia is one of the main international supporters of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, and its military intervention in 2015 enabled government forces to repel rebel advances and regain the initiative on the battlefield.