Ten killed in Russian strikes on rebel-held Syria's Idlib

Russian air strikes in opposition Idlib province on Wednesday killed 10 people and wounded 32 others, according to the White Helmets.

The Syrian Civil Defence, better known as the White Helmets, said that the strikes had targeted a furniture workshop, lumber mill and olive press in the provincial capital, Idlib City.

It said that recovery teams took seven hours to retrieve the bodies of those killed and wounded in the airstrikes.

"Eight White Helmets teams, equipped with both light and heavy machinery as well as ambulances, participated in the operation," the Syrian Civil Defence said in a post on X.

The group, which has won international attention for its work in Syria, also reported that other areas in northwest Syria were targeted on Wednesday.

This includes the towns of Maarbalit and Maarzaf where a young girl was killed in Syrian regime shelling.

Six civilians were also wounded by Syrian regime shelling in the village of Al-Muhsinli in Aleppo, while a shepherd was wounded in a Russian airstrike in southern Idlib.

The shelling is the latest in a series of attacks by the Russian air force and the Syrian regime on opposition-held areas amid rumours of an offensive by the armed opposition against regime positions.

On Tuesday, Russian aircraft carried out 11 airstrikes, knocking out an electrical powerplant in Latakia province. On Monday, 25 Russian airstrikes were reported across northwest Syria.

Although opposition military sources told The New Arab's affiliate site Syria TV there were no plans for an offensive, the territory rebel operations room said they were ready for any military escalation on the frontline.

Such tension has seen the Syrian regime send military reinforcements to the frontline, with thousands of Syrian civilians living in opposition territory near the battlefront fleeing their homes in recent weeks.

The Syrian regime and opposition groups have been in a ceasefire since the last bout of intense fighting in March 2020.

Over 500,000 thousand people have been killed in Syria's civil war since it broke out in 2011 after the Syrian Regime began a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests.