Syrian opposition: Dozens killed, wounded in Russian strikes

The airstrikes were on the town of Ariha, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), and the Local Coordination Committees, an activist collective, said a busy market was hit, causing heavy casualties. Ariha Today, a Facebook page that covers the town, said the airstrikes were carried out by Russian planes and claimed that 40 people were killed and more than 70 wounded. Conflicting tolls are common. Though Russian rhetoric focused on IS, its initial air operations provoked criticism from the United States and other Western countries who accused Moscow of primarily targeting Western-backed rebel militias that are fighting Assad and IS.

The Russian air force has conducted air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad since September 30.

The province is not a stronghold of the Islamic State group that controls wide areas of eastern Syria.

Mohamed Queissi, a rescue worker with the Civil Defence service which operates in rebel-held areas, said the bodies of 31 people had been identified, with 12 more awaiting identification.

A Russian warplane recently entered Israeli-controlled airspace from Syria but the intrusion was resolved without incident, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Sunday. It said the toll was likely to rise, with a total of sixty killed and wounded.

Russian warplanes have continued to target civilian areas and positions held by Syria’s moderate opposition despite an earlier pledge by Russian President Vladmir Putin to refrain from doing so.

The Syrian army said on Saturday that Turkey had increased supplies of weapons, ammunition and equipment to what it described as terrorists in Syria.

The Observatory Sunday said that ISIS had murdered more than 3,500 people in Syria, including 2,000 civilians, since declaring its “caliphate” last June. Iran has been one of Assad’s strongest supporters over the past years.