SW News: On Sunday, June 25, Russian bombers struck towns and villages in Syria's last rebel stronghold in Idlib province in the country's northwest, killing and wounding combatants and civilians. According to the Syrian Civil Defense Organization (White Helmets), 11 people were killed and 61 were wounded, including children, as a consequence of the crime committed by Russian troops. This death toll is simply an estimate, and it is projected to climb owing to the large number of seriously wounded.

According to the White Helmets, the majority of the victims were farmers and employees of a nearby vegetable market. Meanwhile, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that government troops attacked the market in rebel-held Jisr al-Shughour, killing anti-government forces, a civilian, and an armed opposition fighter in Idlib.

These assaults seem to be a direct reprisal of drone strikes attributed to rebel troops. In accordance with the White Helmets, a Syrian civil defense group, Russian planes, most likely Sukhoi jets, bombed a vegetable market in Jisr al-Shughour in the days surrounding Eid al-Adha, one of the main festivals of Muslims.

The National Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces has denounced Russia's bombardment of a packed market in Jisr al-Shughour as a war crime as it struck the countryside surrounding Idlib with planes and artillery. Meanwhile, the SDF urged the UN Special Envoy to Syria and other international actors to condemn the continued atrocities, take actions to protect civilians and contribute more actively to attempts to end the conflict in Syria.

Furthermore, on Tuesday, Russian troops allegedly bombed a military base of a group affiliated with al-Qaeda in northwest Syria, killing at least six terrorists.