Russian, Syrian warplanes pound Idlib

AMMAN - Russian air strikes on Syria's last major rebel bastion Saturday were the "most violent" in a month since Damascus and its ally Moscow started threatening it with an imminent attack around a month ago, a monitor said.

Nearly 60 Russian air raids hit Idlib province near the Turkish border in less than three hours, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

The raids targeted jihadist and rebel positions, some of which were empty and others in use, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

It was the "most violent" bombardment since August 10, when fierce bombardment killed at least 53 civilians including 28 children in Idlib and the neighbouring province of Aleppo, he said.

Idlib and nearby areas are largely controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance led by Al-Qaeda's former Syrian affiliate, as well as rival rebels.

On Friday, Russian air strikes killed four hardline rebels and a shepherd in Idlib province, the Observatory said.

On Saturday witnesses and rescuers said at least a dozen air strikes hit a string of villages and towns in southern Idlib and the town of Latamneh in northern Hama, where rebels are still in control.

Syrian helicopters dropped so-called barrel bombs -- containers filled with explosive material -- on civilian homes on the outskirts of the city of Khan Sheikhoun, two residents of the area in southern Idlib said.

Four civilians were killed in the village of Abdeen in southern Idlib, a civil defence source said.

The spike in violence came after Russia, fellow regime ally Iran and rebel backer Turkey on Friday failed to immediately agree on a solution to avert an imminent government offensive.

Friday's summit in Tehran had focused on the military operation in Idlib, the last major stronghold of active opposition in Syria to the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pushed for a ceasefire during the summit but Russian President Vladimir Putin said a truce would be pointless as it would not involve Islamist militant groups Assad and his allies deem as terrorists.

Tehran and Moscow have helped Assad turn the course of the war against an array of opponents ranging from Western-backed rebels to the Islamist militants, while Turkey is a leading opposition supporter and has troops in the country.

The United Nations fears a full-scale offensive in Idlib could cause a humanitarian catastrophe involving tens of thousands of civilians. 

President Bashar al-Assad's regime has upped its rhetoric on retaking control of Idlib and surrounding areas over the past month.

Kurds clash with regime forces

Clashes also erupted on Saturday between US-backed Kurdish fighters and Syrian troops in the centre of the city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria that left at least 18 people killed, Kurdish forces said.

The fighting took place after a Syrian military convoy entered areas in the city which the Kurdish YPG militia's internal security forces said were under their control.

"They entered our areas of control and arrested civilians and members of the patrol targeted our forces," the internal security forces, known as the Asayish, said in a statement.

Kurdish forces said seven of its fighters and 11 Syrian military were killed in the clashes.

Pro-government sources told state media an army patrol was attacked by Kurdish forces while on its way to the airport. It said several troops were killed.

The Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), controls most of the city and pro-government forces holding the airport and part of its centre.

Fighting in Qamishli, near the Turkish border, which erupts occasionally, disturbs a peaceful co-existence where the Syrian state has slowly expanded its influence, residents say.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has turned a blind eye to YPG control of Kurdish-populated cities since the 2011 uprising in which his army has focused on fighting mainly Sunni rebel factions seeking to topple his rule.

But the government has not ruptured ties with salaries of many state employees in these areas still paid and authorities still getting a share of proceeds from oilfields now under Kurd control.

The SDF has expanded beyond mainly Kurdish parts of the north, where the forces have carved out autonomous cantons since the onset of Syria's conflict.

The region they control spreads across much of northern and eastern Syria, which is rich in farmland, oil and water.

Senior members of the YPG have recently held talks with Syrian officials seeking a political deal which would retain their autonomy in Syria.

More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's civil war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-Assad protests.