Syrian Airstrike 'Kills Nine Civilians in Rebel-Held Homs'
A series of air strikes on a rebel-held district in Homs, Syria's third-largest city, have killed at least nine civilians, according to activists.
Pro-government forces, presumably Russia or Syria, shelled the city's al-Waer neighbourhood with tank and artillery fire in conjunction with the air strikes, the Local Co-ordination Committees, an activist network reported.
Government forces have kept the opposition-held neighbourhood under siege since 2013, according to the Washington-based Siege Watch.
An estimated 75,000 people are trapped inside.
The local civil defence search-and-rescue team, also known as the White Helmets, said the air strikes hit one of its centres in al-Waer, wounding one volunteer.
The government and its allies have regularly targeted hospitals and first responder positions in the course of the Syrian civil war, which is approaching its seventh year.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said nine civilians were killed in the raids.
Government forces retook most of the city in 2014, effectively ending an anti-government protest movement that had gripped Homs since 2011.
The al-Waer assault came a day after presumed Russian or Syrian government aircraft bombed the rebel-held city of Idlib and marked the second major violation of a month-old ceasefire between the government and rebels in as many days.
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