Russian air strikes on the northern city of Idleb have killed 43 people, rescue workers and residents said on Sunday.
Witnesses said at least six strikes hit a busy marketplace in the heart of the city, several government buildings and a number of residential areas. Rescue workers confirmed 43 people were killed in the attack, adding that at least 30 more bodies had been retrieved but remained unidentified.
Over 150 people were wounded with some of those with critical injuries sent to hospitals in Turkey, Reuters reported.
"There are a lot of corpses under the rubble," Yasser Hammo, a Civil Defense Force worker, told Reuters, adding that volunteers and civil defense workers were still pulling bodies out from under the rubble.
Since early Sunday, regime warplanes backed by Russia's jets have stepped up their devastating attacks on the provinces of Idleb and Aleppo.
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Russian air forces in Syria, which consist of around 50 planes and helicopters with a further 37 aircraft, have killed at least 570 civilians, including 152 children and 60 women, since their strikes began on September 30.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country’s armed forces have not yet employed all their capability in Syria and may use further military means if necessary.
"We see how efficiently our pilots and intelligence agents coordinate their efforts with various kinds of forces – the army, navy and aviation, how they use the most modern weapons," Putin was quoted saying, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, images of the so-called “deadly green landmine”, a Soviet-manufactured munition, have been circulated by activists, who claim the mine is being used in Russia’s aerial campaign on Syrian people.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
