Russian airstrikes kill 15 in northern Syria

By Halit Suleyman

IDLIB, Syria (AA) – At least 15 people, including a number of children, were killed by Russian airstrikes in an opposition-held part of northern Syria, a local civil defense source said Monday.

Two consecutive raids by Russian warplanes that targeted the town of Abu al-Duhur in the Idlib province left another 30 injured, Ahmed Mustafa told Anadolu Agency.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.