Air strikes kill 12 civilians in northwest Syria: monitor

Regime and Russian air strikes on Monday killed 12 civilians in northwest Syria, where heightened bombardment has claimed hundreds of lives since late April, a war monitor said.

Russian air raids on several areas in the south of Idlib province left six civilians dead, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Regime air raids killed an additional six civilians in the same region, which is controlled by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Britain-based monitor added.

The bombardment wounded 27 other civilians in total, it said.

Regime forces have since last week been chipping away at the jihadist-dominated region of Idlib on the Turkish border after months of deadly bombardment.

The gains come despite a deal reached between rebel backer Turkey and regime ally Russia last year to set up a buffer zone around the region to protect its three million inhabitants.

Since Wednesday, the Syrian military has seized the key town of Khan Sheikhun from jihadists and allied rebels and overran the countryside to the south, encircling a Turkish observation post in northern Hama.

On Saturday, pro-government fighters gathered north of Khan Sheikhun in an apparent bid to press on with the offensive.

After Khan Sheikhun, Maaret al-Numan is the next town on a key highway running across Idlib province that analysts say is coveted by Damascus.

Total government control of that road would allow it to connect the capital with second city Aleppo, fully retaken from opposition fighters in late 2016.

The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

ho/hc

TOTAL

Related Links
Space War News

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Israeli warplanes hit Gaza after Palestinian rocket fire: army
Jerusalem (AFP) Aug 26, 2019
Israeli warplanes hit the Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas movement early Monday in response to earlier rocket fire from the territory into Israel, the army said in a statement. Israeli authorities also announced a punitive reduction in the flow of fuel to the strip's main power station, meaning a deep cut in the already rationed electricity supply. Three rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel on Sunday night, the Israeli army said. "Three launches were identified from the Gaza Strip int ... read more