Russian raid kills 17 in Syria’s Idlib

By Burak Karacaoglu and Esref Musa

IDLIB, Syria

At least 17 civilians were killed and dozens injured in a Russian airstrike in Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib, according to a local civil defense official on Wednesday.

The attack targeted a residential area in Maarushin town in the province late Tuesday, Hajj Yousif Yousuf, the local head of the Syrian Civil Defense volunteer group, also known as the White Helmets, said.

He said several women and children were among the victims.

"Search and rescue operations are continuing,” he said, expecting the death toll to increase as there are others still trapped under rubble.

Idlib falls within a network of de-escalation zones -- set up in Syria by Turkey, Russia, and Iran -- in which acts of aggression are expressly forbidden.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN officials.

Reporting by Burak Karacaoglu and Esref Musa:Writing by Ali Murat Alhas