8 'Nusra' Militants Killed in Russian Strikes Northwest Syria

Smoke rises after a Russian raid on the outskirts of Idlib - DPA
Smoke rises after a Russian raid on the outskirts of Idlib - DPA
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8 'Nusra' Militants Killed in Russian Strikes Northwest Syria

Smoke rises after a Russian raid on the outskirts of Idlib - DPA
Smoke rises after a Russian raid on the outskirts of Idlib - DPA

At least eight fighters were killed in Russian air strikes early Monday targeting a military base belonging to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), commonly referred to as Nusra Front, in Syria's northwest, a war monitor said.

"Russian warplanes carried out air strikes on the western outskirts of Idlib city, targeting a military base belonging to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)... killing at least eight fighters," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The militant group HTS, led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, controls swathes of Idlib province, parts of which form the last bastions of armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

An AFP correspondent at the site said the strikes, which came shortly after midnight, targeted an area on the outskirts of Idlib city near swimming pools.

Syria's civil war broke out in 2011 after the government's repression of peaceful demonstrations escalated into a deadly conflict that pulled in foreign powers and global militants.

The war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions.

The opposition-held Idlib region is home to about three million people, around half of them displaced from other parts of the country.



Ten Wounded, Including a Child, in Israeli Strikes on South Lebanon

FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
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Ten Wounded, Including a Child, in Israeli Strikes on South Lebanon

FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa

Ten people, including a young child, were injured in two Israeli airstrikes carried out on Sunday in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said on Monday.

According to a statement made by the Public Health Emergency Operations Center, “nine civilians were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Burj Rahal in the district of Tyre”.

Also, an Israeli airstrike on the town of Zrariyeh in the Sidon district left a child critically wounded.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli military unit crossed into Lebanese territory after midnight, moving from the Khallat Wardeh border area toward the vicinity of Aita al-Shaab. It has taken position there.

Despite a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel that aimed at ending over a year of conflict, Israel continues to target various parts of Lebanon particularly in the south often claiming they target Hezbollah fighters or positions associated with the group.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah agreed to withdraw from areas south of the Litani River - approximately 30 kilometers from the Israeli border - and dismantle its military infrastructure there. In exchange, the Lebanese Army and United Nations peacekeepers (UNIFIL) were to strengthen their presence in the region.

Israel, for its part, was required to withdraw from territories it occupied during the conflict. However, it has maintained control over five strategic highlands, which Lebanon continues to demand be vacated.