Charity, war monitor say Syrian hospital destroyed in strike

A medical charity and a Syria war monitoring group have said a hospital has been destroyed in an air strike in opposition-held northwest Syria.

The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations charity, which supports hospitals and doctors in opposition territory, says the hospital in the village of Kafr Zeita was targeted Wednesday morning.

It said in a statement the hospital was struck four times, and one worker was killed.

It said the hospital in the rural north Hama countryside served 5,000 patients per month.

The Britain-Based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the strike.

It said the hospital suffered heavy damage and could no longer serve patients.

The Observatory said it could not determine if Russian or Syrian government jets were behind the strike.

Hundreds of hospitals, clinics and medical centres in opposition areas have been destroyed in the war, which erupted in 2011.

Some have been targeted with "double tap" strikes, killing emergency responders at the scenes of initial bombings.