'Russian warplanes attack Idlib, kill 1 child': Syria Civil Defense

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - A child was killed and two civilians were injured following airstrikes by Russian warplanes in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, according to Syria Civil Defense on Friday.

Firas Khalifa, the media officer of Syria Civil Defense, or White Helmets, told Anadolu Agency that the air bombardment killed a child and injured two civilians in the village of Kansafra.

He added that many small cattle also perished in the attack as the area was an animal shelter.

In a statement on its social media account, the opposition’s plane observatory group said the Russian warplane “took off at 10.02 a.m. (0702GMT) from the Khmeimim Base in Latakia province, (and) carried out an airstrike on Idlib’s southern village of Kansafra at 10.24 a.m. (0724GMT).”

In a separate incident, Bashar al-Assad regime forces shelled artillery on the villages of Fattire, Binin, and Shinan in the Jabal Zawiya region.

There have been no reports of casualties so far.

The latest attacks are in breach of a truce reached in May 2017 between Turkey, Russia, and Iran when the trio agreed to establish a de-escalation zone in Idlib, as part of the Astana meetings on the Syrian crisis.

The Syrian regime forces and their supporters, however, continue sporadic attacks, in violation of a cease-fire agreement signed in March 2020.

Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara