‘Syrian kids killed in Russian raids’

The group said there had been heavy air strikes and clashes between government and rebel forces since Sunday in the northern province, which is controlled by a mixture of moderate and Islamist rebels. The Britain-based monitor also reported that three children were killed by rebel rocket fire on a government-held district in Aleppo city. 

Control of the city has been divided between government forces in the west and rebel fighters in the east since shortly after fighting began there in mid-2012. Government forces regularly carry out air raids on the east, while rebels fire rockets into the west. The situation is largely reversed in the countryside surrounding the city, with rebels controlling much of the area west of Aleppo, and the government present to the east. 

Russia, a staunch ally of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, began air strikes in support of the central government in late September.