13 January 2016•Update: 14 January 2016
ALEPPO, Syria
Three children were killed and another 25 people injured on Wednesday when Russian warplanes targeted a primary school in the Syrian city of Aleppo, according to local Civil Defense sources.
The sources, who are based in the targeted area, said that Russian airstrikes had been carried out in Aleppo’s Zibdiya district.
Following the strikes, Syrian Civil Defense teams rushed to the area to help the victims.
"Russian warplanes, which have been targeting civilian areas, have now begun striking schools," local activist Ahmed Abu Ammar told Anadolu Agency, going on to note that a school in Anjara and a mosque in Aleppo had both recently been targeted by Russian warplanes.
He described the Russian strikes on residential areas as "revenge" for the Assad regime’s recent failure to make significant military gains in Aleppo province.
On Monday, 17 people were killed and another 25 injured when Russian warplanes targeted a school in Anjara, a town in western Aleppo.
Since Sept. 30, Russia -- a close ally of the Assad regime -- has targeted a number of civilian areas and humanitarian facilities 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 launched its air campaign to support Syria’s embattled Assad regime.
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.
