Russian bombing 'killed hundreds' of civilians in Syria

Russian bombing has killed 500 civilians according to the Syrian National Coalition chief Khaled Khoja.

Russia has stepped up its attacks on Latakia province, Douma and Daraa in recent days.

Since Russia launched its first air raids in Syria 53 days ago, more than 2,977 civilians have been killed overall according to the coalition's president.

Khoja said that Russia's 53-day bombing campaign had hit three schools, 14 hospitals, a pharmaceutical plant and food factory.

The SNC said that the Free Aleppo University - a higher education institition run by the opposition in Aleppo - was also hit by Russian bombers this week.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 403 civilians have been killed by Russian bombs between 20 October and 20 November, including 97 children and 69 women.

In one attack on 20 October, Russian bombs destroyed Sarmin hospital in Idlib province, killing at least 12 patients, medical workers and visitors.

On Sunday, a regime shell hit a school in the Damascus suburbs killing seven children and wounding dozens others.

Russia has denied it has targeted civilian infrastructure or killed civilians, but has come under flak from a number of NGOs and human rights groups for its seemingly indiscriminate bombing campaign.

The Syrian opposition leader, Khoja, said that only six percent of Russian air raids have targeted IS areas and that civilians have paid the heaviest price in Moscow's war on Syrian rebels.
  
Despite the ongoing air war against it, Syrian rebels captured ten villages from regime forces in southern Aleppo on Tuesday.

The Syrian National Coalition said that the Fateh Aleppo Operations Room and al-Nasr Army had launched a counteroffensive in south Aleppo and recaptured "strategic hills and villages".

Russia's 53-day bombing campaign has seen it hit three schools, 14 hospitals, a pharmaceutical plant and food factory.

After hours of fighting between Syrian rebels and regime forces and allied Lebanese, Iranian and Iraqi militias.

Rebels reportedly targeted a regime rock launcher with a TOW anti-tank missile killing a number of troops.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the regime has captured some areas of south Aleppo.

Much of the fighting on Tuesday was centered on Latakia, where rebels holed up in the Jebel Turkman and Jebel Akrad mountains have been suffering from sustained Russian bombing.

Despite the pounding the rebel camp is taking, they have managed managed to recapture the al-Zari mountain, which the regime took from the rebels over the weekend.

Rebel fighters also destroyed a Russian helicopter that was repotedly on a mission to rescue the air crew of a war plane shot down over Syrian airspace.

A Turkish official has claimed that both pilots have died, although a video emerged on rebel fighters surrounding what appeared to the dead body of one of the Russians.

Meanwhile, the heavy Russian bombing have led to fears a new influx of refugees to rebel-held territories and Turkey.

Opposition figures have announced that they have opened a refugee camp for "internally displaces Syrians" in northern Latakia.