Air strikes on village of Syria's Idlib; killed 21 civilians

Beirut: Air strikes on a village of Syrian province of Idlib on Sunday killed at least 21 civilians along with three children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which earlier reported an initial toll of 14, said dozens more had been injured in the strikes on the village of Kafr Nabal.

It said that the airstrikes have been carried out by a Russian warplane.

The Observatory says it determines whose planes carried out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved.

Russia denies that its strikes have caused civilians casualties.

Russia began a military intervention in support of President Bashar al-Assad in September 2015, saying it was carrying out strikes against "terrorists".

In November, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian forces had begun a 'major operation' targeting Idlib and Homs provinces.

The northern Idlib province is mostly controlled by a powerful rebel alliance known as the Army of Conquest, which groups Islamist factions with jihadists of the Fateh al-Sham Front, formerly Al-Qaeda`s Syrian affiliate.

Most of Homs province is controlled by the Syrian government, but small parts of the countryside in the region are controlled by a range of rebel groups.

Kafr Nabal gained fame in the early years of Syria`s conflict for the creative, topical and sometimes humourous placards and banners carried by protesters at weekly demonstrations against the government.

More than 300,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests before spiralling into a complex, multi-front war.