Russian air strikes batter Syria's Idlib: monitor

Russian warplanes battered Syria's rebel-controlled Idlib on Tuesday for the first time in three weeks, a war monitor said, as expectations mount of a government offensive in the northwestern province.

Regime ally Moscow and rebel backer Ankara have held several rounds of talks aimed at averting an assault, but government troops have been massing near the rebel zone. "Russian warplanes resumed bombing Idlib province after a 22-day pause," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The air raids "came a day after rebel units in Idlib hit regime positions in neighbouring Latakia province, which killed three pro-regime fighters," Abdel Rahman told AFP.

A Syrian child sits in front of a tent at a camp for the displaced in the rebel-held village of Al-Ghadfa in Idlib Province

Tuesday's bombardment hit several areas held by the jihadist-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, among them the large town of Jisr al-Shughur, but also areas held by rival Turkish-backed rebels, including the town of Ariha.

Abdel Rahman could not immediately provide a death toll for the strikes.