Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Syrian civil war: Russian warplanes carry out airstrike on school near Aleppo, killing at least eight children

Airstrike in the town of Anjara in Aleppo province also seriously injured 20 people, monitors said

John Hall
Monday 11 January 2016 12:07 GMT
Comments
Russian warplanes have been bombarding rebel-held areas of Syria since the end of September
Russian warplanes have been bombarding rebel-held areas of Syria since the end of September (Reuters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

At least eight children have been killed after Russian warplanes carried out an airstrike on a school in north west Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike in the town of Anjara in Aleppo province also seriously injured 20 other people, including a number of children.

The news comes as the death toll from recent Russian airstrikes in Idlib province hit close to 100.

Russian jets bombarded rebel-held areas of the province on Saturday, with a court and prison run by the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front in Maarat al-Numaan baring the brunt of the bombing.

"After 32 hours of our rescue operation, and following the deaths of those who were critically injured, the total death toll of the strikes has risen to 96," the Syria Civil Defence said in a press release yesterday.

The province of Idlib in western Syria in almost entirely controlled by the Fatah Army coalition, which is made up of a number of jihadi groups, including the aforementioned Nusra Front as well as Jund al-Aqsa, Jaish al-Sunna, Liwa al-Haqq and Ajnad al-Sham.

Russian jets also bombarded the Damascus suburb of Douma yesterday afternoon killing at least eight people and seriously injuring several others. The death toll is expected to rise.

In total more than 250,000 people have been killed in the five-year-old Syrian civil war, which started after President Bashar al-Assad used extreme force to crackdown on popular protests. Since then rebel militias, including Isis, have seized vast swathes of land in the country.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in