Massive 'Russian bombing' of Syrian revolution's iconic village

At least 46 people have been killed in suspected Russian air raids in Syria's Idlib province, including a Syrian village made famous for locally-made humorous anti-regime cartoon banners and placards.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said that dozens more had been injured in bombing of several parts of Kafrnabel village and that the death toll could rise.

It said the strikes appeared to have been carried out by a Russian warplane.

The Observatory said it determines whose planes carried out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved.

Russia began a military intervention in support of President Bashar al-Assad in September 2015, saying it was carrying out strikes against "terrorists".

It denies that its strikes have caused civilians casualties.

In November, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian forces had begun a "major operation" targeting Idlib and Homs provinces.

Kafrnabel gained fame in the early years of Syria's conflict for the creative, topical and sometimes humourous placards and banners carried by protesters at weekly demonstrations against the regime.

It is situated in Idlib, the only province almost fully controlled by Syrian rebels and situated in north-central Syria.
 
More than 300,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests before spiralling into a complex, multi-front war.