Syrian regime bombs Idlib market, killing five children

A missile fired by Syrian regime forces struck a market in the city of Idlib on Tuesday, killing nine civilians including five children, a war monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a surface-to-surface missile crashed into a residential neighbourhood of the rebel-controlled city.

Images showed children among the dead in the bombing, which appeared to be of a market.

In recent days, Idlib has seen intensified fighting between Turkish forces and Syrian regime loyalists in northern Syria.

Ankara on Sunday confirmed that it had launched a full military operation - dubbed Operation Spring Shield - against Russian-backed Syrian regime forces following deadly clashes last month.

Ankara killed 19 Syrian regime soldiers in drone strikes on Sunday and downed two regime planes, the Turkish defence ministry said.

Turkey also destroying three of Syrian air defence systems in the embattled Idlib province.

Turkish drones have led the assault on forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad since the deaths of 34 Turkish troops in an Idlib airstrike blamed on the regime last week.

But Turkey remains determined to avoid direct clashes with the regime's key backer Moscow, with which it shares significant defence and trade ties. 

Damascus and Moscow are determined to regain full control of Idlib, the country's last opposition bastion, having carried out a devastating ground campaign on the province backed by airstrikes.

The Syrian conflict has killed more than 500,000 people since it began in 2011.



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