The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Air Strikes Kill 18 Civilians in Syria

Airstrikes in Syria’s northwestern Idlib Province have killed at least 38 people in the past two days, including numerous children. Attacks against Maarat al-Numan, a city in the south of the province, left at least 20 people dead and dozens wounded on Monday, rescuers and residents said. The raids were believed carried out by either Syrian or Russian jets. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Sunday airstrikes by government warplanes killed 12 people, including five children, in the village of Urum al-Jawz, in the western part of the province, and four more people, including two children, in Kfarouma, in the south. In addition, a Russian airstrike killed a volunteer and a media activist in the town of Khan Sheikhoun as he was documenting the attacks. The civilian death toll from Syrian and Russian attacks in the province since late April stands at 682, the Observatory said. It added that 53 civilians had been killed by rebel attacks against state-held areas during that time, and that some 1,500 combatants on both sides had been killed. Northwestern Syria is the last bastion of rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies.