At least 12 people, mostly fighters, were killed Thursday in bombings by the Syrian regime in Idlib province, the last stronghold of jihadists and rebels in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The bombings took place despite a ceasefire negotiated by Russia and has been in force since March 2020. According to the UK-based non-governmental organization, the bombs first targeted a private car in southern Idlib, a province in northwestern Syria. .
A second rocket was fired at Hayat Tahrir al-Sam jihadists (HTS) and members of organizations affiliated with the group, which is the dominant organization in the province, when they gathered at the site of the initial strike, according to the same source.
At least 12 people were killed, including a man, a woman, two children, and eight fighters, members of the CSTO and allied organizations, according to the Observatory.
The attack is among the deadliest since March 2020, when a ceasefire negotiated between Moscow and Ankara began.
A representative of the HTS and coordinator of the organization’s propaganda media is among the victims, always according to the NGO.
A French Agency correspondent in the area saw a house destroyed, a car charred and the bodies of several victims lined up on the ground.
In an announcement distributed to journalists via Whatsapp, the HTS confirmed that three of its members are among the dead.
Ibrahim Harmus, a resident, said many people had gathered on the street after the first strike, which had resulted in an increase in the number of victims in the second.
“We woke up in the morning to the sound of bombs and artillery fire,” said the 30-year-old resident.
The HTS, the Syrian arm of al Qaeda, along with allied organizations control more than half of Idlib and areas of the neighboring provinces of Hamas and Latakia.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the southern part of Idlib has been the target of Russian airstrikes and artillery fire repeatedly over the past five days.
More than three million people live in the countryside. Two-thirds are displaced from areas recaptured by the regime.
Despite its repeated violations, including Russian raids, the ceasefire from March 2020 is generally observed.
The war in Syria, which broke out in 2011 and became extremely complicated over the years with the involvement of various warring parties – jihadist organizations, guerrilla groups, separatist factions, foreign forces … – has cost the lives of about 500,000 people, according to estimates published by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
