UPDATE - Russian jets pound opposition-held Aleppo, killing 81

UPDATES DEATH TOLLS IN ALEPPO, IDLIB AND GHOUTA

By Halit Suleiman

ALEPPO, Syria (AA) – Eighty-one people were killed Wednesday when Russian warplanes struck opposition-held parts of Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo, according to a local civil defense official.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Beibars Meshaal, a pro-opposition civil defense official based in the city, said Russian jets targeted Aleppo’s opposition-held al-Fardos and al-Maadi neighborhoods.

"For the last two days, Russian warplanes have been striking opposition-held parts of eastern Aleppo," Meshaal said.

"Yesterday, they dropped more than 30 deep-penetration bombs on the city," he added.

According to local civil defense sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, five people in northwestern Idlib, and eight in the eastern Ghouta region of Damascus were killed in the air strike conducted by Russian jets and the regime forces.

On Tuesday, at least 43 civilians were killed -- and dozens more injured -- by Russian airstrikes on opposition-held parts of the city.

In late September, Russia began using deep-penetration munitions ("bunker-busters") in opposition-held parts of Syria.

Such bombs are generally used to destroy heavily fortified underground shelters and tunnels.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-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-torn country, according to UN figures.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, however, a Beirut-based NGO, puts the death toll from the five-year conflict at more than 470,000.

One year ago, the Russian military began extensive air operations in Syria with the stated aim of fighting terrorist groups based in the country and supporting the embattled Assad regime.