16 January 2016•Update: 17 January 2016
ALEPPO, Syria
Seven people were killed and another 20 injured -- including women and children -- when Russian warplanes targeted civilian areas and infrastructure in the Syrian city of Aleppo on Saturday, Syrian Civil Defense sources told Anadolu Agency.
The sources, who are based in Aleppo, said Russian warplanes had struck a marketplace and a medical facility in the city’s opposition-held Al-Sokkari district.
The injured were taken to a field hospital in the wake of the strikes, which severely damaged a number of buildings and vehicles.
Civil Defense teams are currently searching for victims trapped under the rubble.
Abo Ammar, a local activist in Aleppo, said it was not the first time for Russian airstrikes to target civilian areas and infrastructure.
"Russian warplanes have recently targeted hospitals in the towns of Hader and Al-Eis," he told Anadolu Agency.
"Russia is targeting residential areas instead of striking Daesh positions," he added.
Since Sept. 30 of last year, Russia -- a close ally of the Assad regime -- has targeted a number of civilian areas in Syria, according to U.S. officials.
In a recent report, the Syrian Network for Human Rights asserted that Russian airstrikes had killed 583 people -- the vast majority of whom were civilians -- since it began its air campaign last September.
While the Kremlin says the airstrikes target positions held by the Daesh militant group, some members of the western NATO alliance say Russia is targeting moderate opposition groups opposed to Assad.
