Russian strikes kill 5 civilians in Syria regime advance

Five civilians died on Feb. 24 in Russian air strikes backing Syrian regime forces as they chip away at the country's last major rebel bastion, a war monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deadly raids hit the area of Jabal al-Zawiya in the south of Idlib province.

The Britain-based monitor says it determines who carried out an air strike according to flight patterns, as well as ammunition and aircraft involved.

It said regime forces had rapidly gained ground in the southern part of Idlib in the past 24 hours.

They have seized "several towns and villages" south of the M4 highway linking the coastal regime stronghold of Latakia to government-held second city Aleppo, it said.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the regime's ultimate aim was to wrest back parts of the M4 still under control of the jihadists and allied rebels.

That would require operations against the towns of Ariha and Jisr al-Shughur, both along the M4.

Meanwhile, the White Helmets said opposition aircraft targeted 18 residential areas. These areas include Kafr Nabl, Ehsim, Kansafra, Sufuhon, Hizareen, Kafar Aweed, Hass, Deir Sunbul villages in the south of Idlib as well as Darat Izza and Kafr Nouran towns in the west of Aleppo.

Russia's defense ministry on Feb. 24 denied the observatory's reports, TASS news agency reported, citing the ministry's statement.

In recent weeks, pro-Damascus forces have taken back control of another key commercial artery running through northwestern Syria - the M5 that connects the capital with Aleppo.

They have also secured the region around the northern city, a major pre-war industrial hub.

Backed by heavy Russian air power, Syrian regime forces have stepped up a...

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