At least 25 people have been killed in northwestern Syria in airstrikes carried out by the Syrian government and Russia, the Syrian opposition rescue service known as the White Helmets announced early this morning, Reuters reports.
Russian and Syrian jets struck the rebel-held city of Idlib in northern Syria on Sunday, military sources said, as President Bashar al-Assad vowed to crush rebels who stormed the city of Aleppo.
The army also said it had recaptured several towns seized by rebels in recent days.
Residents said one strike hit a crowded residential area in the center of Idlib, the largest city in the rebel enclave near the Turkish border where about four million people live in makeshift tents and apartments.
At least seven people died, and dozens were injured, according to rescuers on the scene.
The Syrian army and its ally Russia say they are targeting rebel hideouts and deny attacking civilians.
Ten children were among those killed in airstrikes in and around Idlib and other targets in rebel-held territory near Aleppo on Sunday, according to the White Helmets.
The total number of people killed in Syrian and Russian strikes since Nov. 27 has risen to 56, including 20 children, the group added in a statement on the X social network.
Reuters said it could not independently confirm reports on the battlefield.
The rebels are a coalition of mainstream secular armed groups backed by Turkey, along with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States (US), Russia, Turkey and other countries, according to Reuters.
In a joint statement, the US, France, Germany and Britain called for "de-escalation by all parties and protection of civilians and infrastructure to prevent further displacement and disruption of humanitarian access".
Rebels have seized control of all of Idlib province in recent days, the rebels' boldest attack in years in a civil war that has largely frozen the front lines since 2020.
They also stormed the city of Aleppo, east of Idlib, on Friday evening, forcing the army to redeploy.
In comments published in state media, Assad said: "Terrorists only know the language of force and that is the language we will use to crush them."
The Syrian army announced that dozens of its soldiers were killed in the fighting in Aleppo.
Russian war bloggers reported on Sunday that Moscow had fired Sergei Kissel, the general in charge of its forces in Syria. Reuters has sought comment from the Russian Defense Ministry.
Sources from the Syrian army: Pro-Iranian militias entered the country from Iraq
Iran-backed militias entered Syria overnight from Iraq and headed for northern Syria to reinforce besieged Syrian army forces fighting rebels, two Syrian military sources said, according to Reuters.
Dozens of Iraqi fighters from the Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shabaab (People's Mobilization Units) also crossed into Syria via a military road near Al Bukamal crossing, a senior Syrian military source told Reuters.
"These are new reinforcements being sent to help our comrades on the front lines in the north," the officer said, adding that the militias included the Iraqi groups Katiab Hezbollah and Fatemiyun.
Iran sent thousands of Shiite militias to Syria during the Syrian war and, along with Russia with its air force, enabled Syrian President Assad to quell the rebellion and regain most of his territory.
The lack of manpower to help thwart a rebel offensive in recent days has contributed to the rapid withdrawal of Syrian army forces from the city of Aleppo, according to two other military sources.
Iran-allied militias, led by Hezbollah, have a strong presence in the Aleppo area.
Israel has also stepped up its strikes on Iranian bases in Syria in recent months, while simultaneously waging an offensive in Lebanon that it says has weakened Hezbollah and its military capabilities.
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