Russian airstrikes in Syria’s Idlib province resulted in the deaths of three civilians from the same family on Saturday, according to reports from a war monitor.
The Russian warplanes targeted the outskirts of the northwest Syrian city, where rebel bases are also located.
The attack left six others injured, and rescue teams are working to clear the rubble.
Russia’s involvement in Syria’s civil war has led to repeated strikes on the last main opposition stronghold in Idlib.
While attacks on civilians had been limited this year until late June, the recent violence has caused concern over civilian casualties.
The Syrian government, with support from Russia and Iran, has made significant gains in regaining control of territory lost to rebels early in the conflict.
However, pockets of armed opposition, including parts of rebel-held Idlib province, remain, with the area controlled by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda. The situation in Idlib remains volatile, with civilians caught in the crossfire of ongoing hostilities.
“Russian air strikes this morning” to the west of the city left “three dead from the same family… and six people wounded”, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding rescue teams were still at work removing rubble.
Four strikes hit the area where rebel bases are also present, added the Observatory, a Britain-based group which relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria.
With Russian and Iranian support, the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has clawed back much of the territory it had lost to rebels early in the conflict.
The last pockets of armed opposition to the Assad government include swathes of rebel-held Idlib province, controlled by jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is headed by the country’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate.