Russia airstrikes target northwest Syria after months-long pause in bombing

Russia reportedly resumed airstrikes on northwestern Syria on Tuesday after a lull in bombing that lasted several months.

Warplanes launched raids targeting the vicinity of a village called Bzabour in the southern countryside of the Idlib governorate. Images shared online showed a house in the village that had purportedly been damaged in the strikes.

The area falls within a de-escalation zone governed by Russia and by Turkey, which also has a military presence across strips of northern Syria and has long backed rebel groups there.

The reports said the airstrikes came because of the killing of a Russian colonel over the weekend in a roadside attack in the Homs governorate, blamed on the Islamic State group.

Oleg Pechevisty was killed last week after being deployed to Syria months earlier to carry out "special tasks".

Moscow has backed the regime of President Bashar al-Assad for much of the 12-year war that has killed over half a million people and displaced more than half of Syria’s pre-war population.

Today, Tuesday, May 30, a boy was injured by shrapnel from aerial bombardment by Russian warplanes, targeting a house on the outskirts of the village of Bazabour in the southern countryside of #Idlib, #Syria.#whitehelmets pic.twitter.com/7jtZqAzhaM

— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) May 30, 2023

Footage shows the aftermath of the Russian airstrike that hit a house today on the outskirts of the village of #Bazabour in #Idlib's southern countryside, injuring a boy.#WhiteHelmets pic.twitter.com/C6bOhICLhk

— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) May 30, 2023

Regime forces also bombed the outskirts of Bzabour and the village of Ihsim with artillery shelling.

"Our teams inspected the targeted places and made sure that there were no casualties," said the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as The White Helmets, who operate in areas outside of regime control.

It shared images on its Twitter page saying one person was wounded by shrapnel.