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Deadly air raids against Isis as Russian Federation sends in jets

Spokesman Rami Abdel Raham said the bombardment was “one of the strongest attacks by Syrian warplanes” in the ancient city since IS jihadists captured it on May 21.

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He said most residents had fled in the wake of the ISIS takeover, leaving only a few of the original inhabitants and the families of militants.

Such killings of captured troops have been a common practice of the Islamic State group.

On Thursday, Syrian jets had carried out at least 12 air strikes on Raqqa, Islamic State’s de facto capital in the north. Elsewhere airstrikes killed 17 people in Idlib, the Observatory said.

The latest executions bring to 71 the number of regime troops killed by Islamist rebels since opposition forces took over the base, which was the government’s last military stronghold in Idlib, according to the Britain-based observatory, which monitors the Syrian conflict through a network of opposition activists in the country.

In Washington, an official said Russian Federation has deployed four fighter jets to an air base in Syria where it has been building up forces in recent weeks.

Footage of the execution was also leaked on social media sites such as Twitter, with some Jabat al-Nusra linked Twitter accounts saying that the full film would be released in the coming days.

Abu Duhur, a strategic airport about 35 miles southeast of Aleppo city, was the last major government garrison in Idlib province.

With air defences crippled due to low visibility, militants broke through the defensive perimeter and killed dozens of government soldiers while taking others captive.

Its fighters – including those of Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front – set off at least nine vehicle bombs in the assault, of which at least seven were suicide bombings, said the Observatory.

Fierce clashes and heavy shelling on the two villages continued on Saturday.

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But the two-day ceasefire, the second that month, collapsed before the wounded could be evacuated from either area.

Al-Qaeda in Syria executes 56 regime troops: monitor