Regime airstrikes said to kill 5 in northwest Syria

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Regime airstrikes kill five civilians in the embattled opposition stronghold of Idlib in northwest Syria, a Britain-based war monitor says.

Jihadist-run Idlib has come under mounting bombardment in recent weeks, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes in the region of some three million people.

“Regime air raids killed five civilians in the town of Ariha,” says the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on sources inside the war-torn country.

The Damascus government has repeatedly vowed to take back control of Idlib, which is run by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group dominated by Syria’s former al-Qaeda affiliate.

A ceasefire announced in late August was supposed to stem Russia-backed regime bombardment of the region after it killed around 1,000 civilians in four months.

— AFP