International Affairs / Middle East

The Latest: Airstrike on Syrian village kills at least 23

BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the developments in Syria’s civil war (all times local):

3:52 p.m.

Syrian opposition monitoring groups say an airstrike on a rebel-held village in northern Syria has killed at least 23 people.

The activists said the attack on the village of Oweijel in the northern province of Aleppo occurred on Monday.

The Local Coordination Committees said 30 people were killed and dozens wounded when Russian warplanes attacked the village. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 23, and said several others were missing.

The northern province of Aleppo has been the center of violence in Syria over the past week, with hundreds of people killed in rebel-held areas by Russian and government airstrikes.

3:20 p.m.

A Syrian opposition activist group and a jihadi official say a U.S.-led coalition drone has struck a car in the northwestern city of Idlib, killing all inside.

It was not immediately clear who was in the vehicle but such attacks have previously targeted officials with al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, known as Fatah al-Sham Front.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday’s attack targeted a faction commander.

An official with Fatah al-Sham Front, formerly known as Nusra Front, said all those in the car were “martyred.” The man, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said it was not clear if members of his group were targeted.

Earlier this month, a drone attack killed top al-Qaida official Ahmed Salama Mabrouk.

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1:55 p.m.

Syrian opposition activists are reporting that airstrikes on a rebel-held, eastern neighborhood in the city of Aleppo have killed at least 13 people, including children.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the airstrikes hit the Marjeh neighborhood on Monday and that five children were among the casualties.

The Aleppo Media Center, an activist collective, also reported the airstrikes and gave the same death toll. It says 11 of the victims have the same family name of Qabs and ranged in age from a month-and-a-half-old baby girl and a 25-year-old man.

Rebel-held parts of Aleppo have been subjected to the worst aerial attacks since a cease-fire brokered by the U.S. and Russia collapsed in September. The air raids have killed hundreds, wounded many others and demolishing entire buildings.

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10 a.m.

A top aide of Syrian President Bashar Assad has visited Cairo to coordinate with Egypt in the fight against “terrorism” in the region.

Syria’s state news agency reported on Monday that Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk, head of the National Security Bureau, led a delegation that visited Egypt the day before.

SANA says the Syrians met with top intelligence officials, including deputy chief of Egypt’s intelligence agency. It says both sides agreed on “coordinating political standpoints” and strengthening the “cooperation in fighting terrorism.”

Both countries are fighting extremists, including members of the Islamic State group. Egypt and Syria also have bad relations with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Egypt’s pro-government Sada al-Balad and other news websites reported Sunday that six Syrians arrived on a private jet Sunday from Damascus.
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