By Halit Suleyman

ALEPPO, Syria

At least 30 people were killed and 62 others were injured Wednesday when a Russian warplane targeted a field hospital in Aleppo’s al-Sokkari neighborhood, a civil defense official said.

Ibrahim Hajj Ibrahim, a civil defense official in Aleppo, told Anadolu Agency that the attack on Quds hospital left scores dead and injured, including medical staff, women and children. He feared the death toll may rise further.

Ibrahim added that the rescue teams who rushed to the attacked hospital were also targeted in another air raid.

On Tuesday, at least 18 people were killed and more than a dozen others injured in Russian airstrikes in Syria’s northern Aleppo province, according to a Syrian civil defense official.

Russia began its military intervention in Syria in September last year, reportedly after a formal request by the embattled Bashar al-Assad regime for help against armed opposition groups.

In March, Russia announced a partial reduction of its forces deployed in the war-ravaged country.

According to a tally compiled by Anadolu Agency, more than 361,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict erupted in 2011.