Russian airstrikes in Syria kill at least 45, including rebel commander

A Syrian rebel watches smoke from a battle near Aleppo

(Image credit: Fadi al-Halabi/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 20 October 2015

For several hours on Monday afternoon, Russian fight jets attacked rebel-held areas in Syria's western Latakia province, killing at least 45 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said Tuesday. Among those killed in the airstrikes was Basil Zamo, a defector from the Syrian army who led the First Coastal Division rebel group, one of several militias trying to unseat President Bashar al-Assad with the help of anti-Assad governments, including the United States. Another monitoring group fueled by local activists, the Local Coordination Committees, put Monday's deal toll at 57 in Latakia province, most of them rebels.

In all, over the past three weeks, Russian airstrikes have killed 370 people in Syria, including 36 children, 34 women, and 57 other civilians, the Observatory said, adding that Russian strikes have also killed 243 fighters from various insurgent groups, including Islamic State. Backed by the Russian attacks, Syria's army and its allied Iranian-backed militias have retaken ground from the rebel groups.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.