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Jets hit Syrian rebel outpost near Turkish border

April 2, 2017 at 10:56 am

A Russian Sukhoi Su-34 striking targets in Aleppo, Syria [Mil.ru/Middle East Monitor]

Jets believed to be Russian hit an outpost run by moderate rebel forces in north-western Syria near a major border crossing with Turkey, killing at least one fighter and wounding several people, two rebel sources said on Sunday.

They said several raids overnight hit Babeska, a village in Idlib province that has become a haven for several moderate Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups, mainly Jaish al Islam, a major insurgent group that controls the last major rebel stronghold on the doorstep of the Syrian capital.

Jaish al Islam is a signatory to a fragile ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey at the end of last year. Rebels say Russia has failed to put pressure on the Syrian government to ensure the ceasefire holds.

Read: Syrian regime launches new chlorine gas attack in Hama

The Syrian government considers Jaish al Islam a terrorist group and blames it alongside other insurgents for waging recent attacks on the government-held areas in the capital.

The village also houses hundreds of families and fighters from the Damascus suburb of Daraya which was evacuated by rebels and surrendered to government control last year.

War jets also believed to be Russian also struck Urum al Kubra town in rebel-held western Aleppo countryside where five civilians were killed, in an area that witnessed fighting between rebels and the Syrian army, rebels said.

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