Air strikes on rebel building in Syria ‘kill at least 25’

Dozens wounded in attack on Jabhat Fateh al-Sham site in Idlib, says monitor

A Jabhat Fateh al-Sham spokesman, said the attack, in the countryside of the northern province of Idlib, was carried out by the US-led international coalition. Image: Google Maps

Air strikes on a building in northern Syria used by an insurgent group formerly known as the al-Nusra Front, had killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens more on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The British-based observatory said it was unclear whether the strikes had been carried out by aircraft belonging to Russia or to the US-led coalition.

Tuesday is the fifth day of a ceasefire in Syria but its sponsors, Russia and Turkey, say this excludes Islamic State and the Syrian Islamist militia Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly called the al-Nusra Front.

Abu Anas al-Shami, a Jabhat Fateh al-Sham spokesman, said the attack, in the countryside of the northern province of Idlib, was carried out by the international coalition. More than 20 people were killed, he said.

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“The headquarters targeted by the international coalition a short time ago are a main headquarters for that area and contains a number branch offices, leading to the killing of the brothers,” he said in a statement.

Jabhat Fateh al-Sham changed its name in July and announced it was severing ties with al-Qaeda.

The Observatory said eight Jabhat Fateh al-Sham fighters and leaders have been killed in air strikes around rebel-held Idlib in January.

Reuters