Dozens killed in Syrian prison airstrike: Monitoring group

IDLIB, Syria (Kurdistan24) – A human rights organization on Saturday revealed over a dozen people were killed after airstrikes hit a prison in the northwest Syrian city of Idlib.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group in the war-torn country, said at least 16 people were killed in the prison.

According to the monitoring group, several prisoners and prison guards were shot dead while attempting to flee the area after the airstrikes.

The violence occurred in the rebel-held Idlib city where Syrian regime and Russian air forces conduct regular missions.

The area contains several extremist groups as well as forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Joint Syrian and Russian campaigns in Idlib have resulted in the deaths of nearly 60 civilians, including children, according to the human rights group.

Additionally, further civilian casualties were reported in the Jisr al-Shughour and Khan Sheikhan areas, the group said.

The US-led coalition has also previously conducted airstrikes in Idlib against Islamic State (IS) militants in the area.

In early March, the coalition said it was investigating accusations that over 40 civilians were killed in an airstrike in the province.

On Wednesday, the monitoring group revealed an airstrike by the US-led coalition struck a school sheltering a group of people fleeing violence from the civil war.

The school was located in the village of al-Mansoura in the western Raqqa Governorate.

According to the Syrian civil war monitor, one of its activists in the area saw 33 bodies pulled from the rubble.

Despite a ceasefire deal in Syria, violence is ongoing on many fronts in the country.