Russia airstrikes on Syrian town of Idlib kill at least 73 and wound many more

GETTYSyrian civil defence teams work on the rubble of a building in Idlib

The bombs fell on the rebel-held city of Idlib in northwest Syria.

At least six strikes hit a busy market place in the heart of the city, several government buildings and residential areas, rescue workers said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said warplanes believed to be Russian struck several areas including the offices of rebel groups.

Video footage of the bombing showed huge plumes of smoke billowing from a location in the centre of the city.

GETTYCivil defense team members try to search casualties among the destroyed buildings

REUTERSPeople stand near the body of a man who died during airstrikes

REUTERSAt least six strikes hit a busy market place in the heart of the city

Yasser Hammo, a civil defence worker, said: “There are a lot of corpses under the rubble.”

Idlib, the capital of a northwestern province of the same name, became an important rebel centre after it was captured earlier this year by a coalition of Islamist insurgent groups known as Jaish al Fateh, which includes al-Qaeda’s Syrian wing al-Nusra Front.