51 civilians killed in suspected air strikes by Russian jets in Syria

In Syria, 51 civilians have been killed in suspected air strikes carried out by Russian jets on a rebel-held residential area in northwestern Idlib province.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, nine children were among those killed when the strikes hit the Zardana area of Idlib



province yesterday. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said, the toll was rising because more bodies had been found under the rubble of houses destroyed in the air strikes.

However, the Russian defence ministry dismissed the Observatory's reports of strikes on Zardana.