IDLIB, Syria
At least one civilian was killed and two others injured on Sunday in airstrikes by Russian jets in northwestern Syria.
IDLIB, SYRIA - MARCH 21: Firefighters try to extinguish the fire after Russian war planes' attack in Idlib, Syria on March 21, 2021. Airstrikes have killed one civilian when it hit a facility to be built at the Babu'l Hava border gate, trucks carrying commercial materials, near the warehouse of a local humanitarian aid association, and Kefersile village on the M4 highway in the south of Idlib. Photo: Muhammed Abdullah - Anadolu Agency
The attack, which an opposition plane observatory claimed was carried by Russia, targeted an area near the M4 highway in the Bab al-Hawa border crossing area between the town of Sarmada in Idlib province on the Syrian side and Reyhanli district of Hatay province in southern Turkey.
A cylinder-filling facility near the crossing was hit in the strikes, as well as trucks carrying commercial materials, areas near to the warehouse of a local humanitarian aid association, mountainous areas and a village on the highway in the south of Idlib.
Meanwhile, according to the observatory, a ballistic missile launched from the Mediterranean Sea landed near the Syrian National Army headquarters located in the village of Qah, 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Idlib's border with Turkey.
Following the attacks, defense teams in Idlib started efforts to extinguish the ensuing fires.
Earlier in the day, at least six civilians, including a child and a woman, were killed and 15 others injured in an attack by the Bashar al-Assad regime forces and Iran-backed terror groups in Idlib.
Idlib is the site of a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Assad regime and its allies.
Syria has been embroiled in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
More than 5 million civilians have since been displaced.
*Writing by Sena Guler
