Russian air strikes have targeted Syrian rebels and the US has bombed Iran-backed groups in Syria, with the Russian military criticising Washington for failing to coordinate its operations, reports Al Jazeera.
Russian air strikes in Syria’s Idlib province have reportedly killed 34 rebel fighters and injured 60, as hostilities mount in the country’s last rebel stronghold.
Russia’s Aerospace Forces hit “illegal armed groups” in Idlib that were responsible for an artillery attack on Syrian government positions, Rear Admiral Vadium Kulit said on Sunday.
The positions of Syrian government troops were struck seven times in the previous 24 hours, he said.
The Syrian army has blamed rebels for attacks on government-held areas in Idlib and Aleppo provinces. Syria denies indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas under rebel control.
However, opposition officials say both Moscow and Damascus are taking advantage of the world’s focus on the war in Gaza to escalate attacks in the densely populated region.
After 12 years of civil war, Idlib is Syria’s last rebel-held territory, with more than three million inhabitants there refusing to live under the authoritarian rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, more than half a million people have been killed.
Kulit also repeated frequent Russian claims that the US-led coalition had breached Syrian airspace, saying numerous jet and drone flights were not coordinated with the Russian side.
The United States carried out two air strikes against Iran-aligned groups in Syria, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Monday.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
