Russian airstrikes in Syria’s Aleppo kill 4, injure 60

ALEPPO, Syria

At least four people were killed and another 60 injured on Monday by a series of Russian airstrikes in Syria’s northern Aleppo province.

Civil Defense units in the city of Anadan (roughly 12 kilometers from the city of Aleppo), where the attacks took place, told Anadolu Agency that Russian warplanes had carried out a total of 20 airstrikes in the area.

Several residential areas were badly damaged by the strikes, local sources told Anadolu Agency.

Mohamed Kurab, an activist based in Anadan, told Anadolu Agency that, following the attacks, Civil Defense units had to pull the bodies of the dead and injured from the rubble of destroyed buildings.

According to Kurab, local residents in northern Aleppo are afraid to go out due to ongoing Russian airstrikes.

Russia began its air campaign in Syria last September with the stated aim of degrading the Daesh militant group.

Critics, however, have accused the Kremlin of supporting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad by targeting moderate Syrian opposition groups.

In recent months, Russia has carried out numerous airstrikes in the Syrian cities of Idlib, Aleppo, Hama and Homs -- which often result in civilian casualties -- and in rural areas such as Latakia, Daraa and southern Damascus.