Children among dead in Russian strikes on Syria

Two children were among at least seven civilians killed in airstrikes carried out by Russian warplanes in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, a monitoring group said Friday, citing witnesses.

"Four civilians, including a child and a woman, were killed in raids conducted by Russian military aircraft," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights [SOHR].

The airstrikes hit the district of Jabal al-Zawiya, in an area under the control of al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria and other Islamist rebel groups, said the Britain-based monitor.

"Three other civilians, including a girl and a woman, were killed in bombing by these planes of the village of Habeet," in the same province that borders Turkey, said the group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its information.

Russia strikes IS stronghold Raqqa

Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said on Friday it has carried out airstrikes on the Islamic State [IS] stronghold of Raqqa and destroyed infrastructure "used to train terrorists".

"On October 1, Su-34 planes carried out strikes on an IS training camp... and on a camouflaged command post... southwest of the town of Raqqa," the ministry said.

"As a result of the strikes, the IS command point was put out of action. The infrastructure used to train terrorists was completely destroyed."

SOHR said that at least 12 extremists from the Islamic State group have been killed in Russia's airstrikes.

"Last night, Russian strikes on the western edges of Raqqa city, and near the Tabqa military airport, killed 12 IS jihadists," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said on Friday.

He said their bodies were transported to a hospital in the province.

Russian airstrikes on Syria have killed 28 people since they were launched on Wednesday, according to the Observatory.

Syria's main opposition group accused Moscow of killing 36 civilians in the central province of Homs on Wednesday, but the Kremlin has denied any civilians were among the dead.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hit back at the allegations, describing them as "information warfare".

Moscow says it is targeting the Islamic State extremist group, but Washington and its allies suspect its military intervention is aimed at keeping in power President Bashar al-Assad under the guise of fighting "terrorism".