At least 25 killed in counter air strikes by Syrian army on rebels in north-west

Ten children are among dead in attacks on Idlib and Aleppo

Syrian and Russian air strikes killed at least 25 people across north-western Syria on Sunday, the White Helmets civil defence group said on Monday. The deaths were reported amid a second day of intense bombardment against a shock insurgency.

Ten children were among the dead, with at least 125 people injured in the strikes on Idlib and areas surrounding the city, as well as Aleppo. The Syrian army said it intensified strikes, conducted in co-ordination with Russian jets, on Idlib after the insurgency began in Aleppo last week.

At least 56 people have been killed so far across Idlib and Aleppo, the White Helmets said, including 20 children. Seven people were killed in a strike on a crowded residential area in Idlib city centre on Sunday, residents told Reuters. At least 71 people were killed in attacks on Idlib and its surrounding areas, including air strikes on displacement camps, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Thousands of civilians have fled their homes since insurgents swept into Aleppo on Friday, forcing the army to move to new positions, in the biggest challenge to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in years. The army said dozens of soldiers were killed in the attack, during which government-held areas of the city fell to militant groups, including Turkey-backed Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, for the first time since 2016.

Tens of thousands of civilians displaced from Afrin and Al Shahba area of Aleppo slept out in the open on Sunday night, the observatory reported, awaiting transport to Aleppo city, before being moved to areas under Kurdish control in north-east Syria.

Communications were cut with rural northern Aleppo on Saturday, it added, prompting fears of mass killings in the Kurdish-majority area, where roads leading to safer areas have reportedly been blocked.

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that dominate north-eastern Syria, said the Kurdish-led group was “co-ordinating with all relevant parties" to evacuate Kurds to areas under its control, but claimed a humanitarian corridor was cut off by Turkish troops.

The SDF "faced intense attacks from several sides” but continues to "resist to protect our people in the Kurdish neighbourhood of Aleppo", he added.

Several civilians were killed in strikes on the Bustan Ghannoum neighbourhood of Idlib on Sunday, the White Helmets said, describing the once-vibrant area as being “surrounded by destruction and panic”.

Mr Al Assad said the rebel move was an attempt to “redraw” the map of the area. “The terrorist escalation reflects the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and fragmenting the countries in it and redraw the map in line with the objectives of the United States and the West,” he told Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian during a call on Monday, Syria's state media reported.

Syria's civil war

• Syria and Russia intensify air strikes on rebels
• Region braces for chaos as shock rebel offensive continues
• Rebel troops overrun Aleppo as thousands of civilians flee fighting

Video shared by the group showed rescue workers pulling civilians from heavily bombed areas in scenes reminiscent of early in the civil war. At least one volunteer was also killed in an army air strike.

The fighting has prompted diplomatic support for Damascus and concern from the UN, which has called for a “political solution” to the crisis, while Iraq has reinforced its military presence on the border with Syria.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Damascus on Sunday, meeting Mr Al Assad a day after an attack on the country’s consulate in Aleppo and Iranian reports that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general was killed in the fighting.

Tehran fully supports the government and the Syrian people “in their fight against terrorism", Iranian state media quoted Mr Araghchi as saying.

He also said the situation in Syria would be “high on the agenda” in talks in Ankara on Monday, where he will meet Turkish officials and the Iranian ambassador.

In Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Monday denied reports of Iranian casualties in the consulate attack and said military advisers would remain in Syria at the request of Damascus. He described the situation in Syria was "complex" and added that Tehran would continue diplomatic efforts to seek stability.