34 fighters killed in Russian air strikes in Syria’s Idlib

34 fighters have been killed and more than 60 others wounded in air strikes carried out by Russian forces on targets in Syria’s Idlib governorate, Reuters reported quoting Russia’s Interfax on Monday (November 13).

“The Russian Aerospace Forces carried out air strikes in the province of Idlib on targets of illegal armed groups involved in shelling the positions of Syrian government troops,” Interfax cited Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit as saying of the Saturday attack.

Kulit said that in 24 hours, positions of Syrian government troops were attacked seven times.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the Russian report.

The Syrian army has blamed rebels, who it says are Islamist jihadists, for attacks on government-held areas in Idlib and Aleppo provinces and denies indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas under rebel control.

Opposition officials say both Moscow and Damascus are taking advantage of the world’s preoccupation with the Gaza conflict to escalate pounding of a region where more than three million inhabitants refuse to live under the authoritarian rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Kulit also reiterated frequent Russian accusations of aircraft violation in Syria’s airspace by the U.S.-led coalition saying that a number of jet and drone flights were not coordinated with the Russian side.