Russian airstrikes in NW Syria kill 120 rebels

DAMASCUS, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Russian airstrikes on positions of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front in northwestern Syria killed 120 rebels on Thursday, state news agency SANA reported.

The Russian warplanes attacked a Nusra Front training camp in the Sheikh Youssef area of Idlib province and destroyed observation points, drones, and missile launchers, SANA cited Russian military sources in Syria as saying.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, also reported the Russian airstrikes in Idlib, saying the Russian warplanes carried out 14 airstrikes on Thursday and fired one surface-to-surface missile on rebel-held areas in the province.

Occupied by a number of rebel groups, including ultra-radical ones like Nusra Front, Idlib has emerged as the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.