Warplanes strike hospital, kill at least 10 in Syrian offensive

BEIRUT — Warplanes struck a town in a rebelheld enclave in northwestern Syria, killing at least 10 people including some who were fleeing the bombs, opposition activists and a rescue service said Thursday.

The attack, believed carried out by Russian warplanes backing a Syrian government offensive, put a local hospital out of service, they said.

The late Wednesday night assault on Ariha, a town in Idlib province, comes as the rebel-held enclave is under intense fire amid Syrian government advances on the area, which had been controlled by the opposition for nearly eight years.

The Russian Defense Ministry rejected claims it was behind the attack, adding that Russian warplanes did not fly any combat missions in the area.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll from the airstrikes was at least 10 civilians. The rescue group Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, said 11 people, including a child, were killed when warplanes hit a road used by displaced people trying to leave Ariha. Both the Observatory and the White Helmets said a local hospital and a bakery were struck.

At least 24 people were wounded, including a doctor, a White Helmet volunteer, three women and two children, the rescuers said.

The Ariha hospital, also know as al-Shami, is the only medical facility in the area with surgical facilities. There are no governmentrun hospitals in oppositionheld areas, where health and education services are based on donations and international aid.

Hospital director Waguih Qarat said the hospital’s coordinates have been shared for three years and that the government and Russia know it is a medical facility.

GHAITH ALSAYED/AP A man walks past buildings Thursday that were blasted during airstrikes in the town of Ariha in Idlib province. Activists blamed the Russian air force for the attack in Syria.