Suspected Russian Air Strike in Northwestern Syria Kills over 50 Opposition Fighters

Columns of smoke raise after air strikes hit the town of Saraqeb, in Idlib province, Syria, Feb. 27, 2020. (AP)
Columns of smoke raise after air strikes hit the town of Saraqeb, in Idlib province, Syria, Feb. 27, 2020. (AP)
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Suspected Russian Air Strike in Northwestern Syria Kills over 50 Opposition Fighters

Columns of smoke raise after air strikes hit the town of Saraqeb, in Idlib province, Syria, Feb. 27, 2020. (AP)
Columns of smoke raise after air strikes hit the town of Saraqeb, in Idlib province, Syria, Feb. 27, 2020. (AP)

An air strike on an opposition training camp in northwestern Syria on Monday killed more than 50 fighters and wounded nearly as many, a Syrian opposition spokesman and a war monitor said.

The air strike in the northwestern part of Idlib province, the last opposition enclave in Syria, targeted a military training camp for Failaq al-Sham, one of the largest Turkey-backed opposition groups in Syria, said Youssef Hammoud, a spokesman for the groups.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria, said the strike killed 56 fighters and wounded nearly 50.

Rescue missions are still underway, the Observatory said.

It said it also suspected the airstrike was carried out by Russia, which is a close ally of Syrian president Bashar Assad in the country's war.

Leaders of the camp were among those killed in airstrike in Jabal al-Dweila, according to Hammoud.

Turkey and Russia had brokered a truce in Idlib earlier this year to halt a government offensive that displaced hundreds of thousands. But the truce remained shaky.

Turkey has long supported Syrian opposition forces in Syria. Russia has negotiated with Ankara to deploy observation teams in the enclave to monitor the truce.



Death Toll in Lebanon Crosses 3,000 in 13-Month Israel-Hezbollah War, Health Ministry Says

A building destroyed during an Israeli airstrike southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh, 03 November 2024. (EPA)
A building destroyed during an Israeli airstrike southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh, 03 November 2024. (EPA)
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Death Toll in Lebanon Crosses 3,000 in 13-Month Israel-Hezbollah War, Health Ministry Says

A building destroyed during an Israeli airstrike southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh, 03 November 2024. (EPA)
A building destroyed during an Israeli airstrike southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh, 03 November 2024. (EPA)

More than 3,000 people have been killed in Lebanon during 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's Health Ministry said Monday. At least 13,492 have been injured.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 ignited the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are both allied with Iran.

The conflict dramatically escalated on Sept. 23 with intense Israeli airstrikes on south and east Lebanon as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs, leaving hundreds dead and leading to the displacement of nearly 1.2 million people.

Israel began a ground invasion of south Lebanon on Oct. 1, causing wide destruction in border villages but making little advances on the ground inside Lebanon.

In Israel, 72 people have been killed from Hezbollah attacks, including 30 soldiers.