UPDATE - Syria: Regime forces kill 24 civilians in Idlib

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEAD; ADDS BACKGROUND

By Esref Musa and Burak Karacaoglu

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - The civilian death toll from the Bashar al-Assad regime forces’ attacks on opposition-held Idlib province of Syria has risen to 24, the White Helmets civil-defense agency said on Tuesday.

Regime forces and Iran-backed militias targeted rural parts of the Idlib and Hama provinces, including Khan Shaykhun, Kafr Nabl, Al-Hobait and Lataminah, according to the agency.

It said a hospital and a healthcare center were destroyed in the attack.

However, as the airstrikes continue, the death toll may rise in the de-escalation zone.

Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression would be expressly prohibited.

The Syrian regime, however, has consistently broken the terms of the ceasefire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.

* Writing by Beyza Binnur Donmez and Maimaitiming Yilixiati