Almost 100 killed in one day of Syria fighting

Nearly 100 pro and anti-regime fighters were killed in northern Syria on Friday, a war monitor said, in some of the heaviest fighting seen in weeks.

Clashes began at dawn on Friday morning with heavy bombing, with rebels killing 51 pro-regime forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

At least 45 rebels were killed defending the opposition province from attacks, the agency added with fighting continuing until the afternoon.

The Syrian regime launched an offensive - backed by Russia - on Damascus in April with huge bombardments hitting Idlib province and Hama. Dozens of schools, rescue centres and hospitals have been destroyed in Russia-led bombing.

Syrian regime forces have been unable to make any progress on the ground, despite massive Russian aerial support.

Syrian regime media claimed Friday's bombing took place in response to attacks against the villages and cities in Hama.

Idlib and parts of neighbouring Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces are covered by a de-escalation zone agreed by Russia and Turkey.

On Friday a Turkish soldier was killed and three others were wounded following fire from regime forces on an observation post in Idlib.

Since late April, air strikes have killed at least 490 civilians in opposition areas.

More than 330,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in opposition areas due to regime bombardments.

Syria's war has killed around 500,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted in 2011 with the brutal repression of protests against President Bashar al-Assad.