Syria air strikes kill 11 civilians

BEIRUT: Eleven Syrian civilians were killed on Sunday in government strikes in the country’s northwest, a monitor said, in apparent retaliation for a militant attack on two besieged government-held villages.

The bombing raids hit a string of towns and villages in the northwest province of Idlib, which is almost entirely controlled by various militant and hardline rebels.

“Nine civilians, including three children, were killed in the raids on the town of Taftanaz,” said the Britainbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said strikes had also hit near a children’s hospital, putting it out of service.

Two more civilians, including a child, were killed in other raids nearby.

The air strikes came a day after militants from Al Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate launched an attack on Fuaa and Kafraya, two villages held by the government but cut off by hardline forces. Late on Saturday, Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) and allied fighters shelled Fuaa and Kafraya heavily and clashed with local fighters.

“This is the fiercest attack in around three years,” said Abdel Rahman.

Six Syrian pro-government fighters and at least three from HTS were killed in the fighting, which continued on Sunday. Syrian state news agency SANA also reported Saturday’s attack, and said local fighters were able to push back the militants.

Assad’s denial: Syria’s President Bashar al Assad denied Moscow is running the show in his war-torn country, saying in an interview released on Sunday his government operates independently of its allies.

In a wide-ranging interview in Damascus with the Mail on Sunday, Assad slammed the United States and British military actions in Syria as “colonial” while praising supporter Russia.