The death toll of Russian air strikes on rebel-held towns north of the city of Homs on Thursday has reached 58, activists told Zaman Al Wasl as regime troops and their allies, backed by Russian jets launch major assault on long-held and strategic enclave of Syrian rebels.
Activists said at least 33 people, including children and women, have been killed in a Russian air strike stormed their shelter in al-Ghanto town.
Hours later another deadly strike on a bakery in Teir Malla village, about 3 miles (5 km) north of Homs city, has killed least 25 people including, Rawad al Aksah, a commander of insurgent group Liwaa al-Tawhid.
A few miles further north, there were heavy air strikes around the town of Talbiseh and other villages in the area, the Observatory said, as well as fierce clashes on the southern edges of the town and nearby villages.
A resident of Talbiseh said four civilians had been killed there and that a school was hit at around 6 a.m., before classes started. He said jets were still flying in the area.
"There's no end to the aerial observation and the bombardment," said Abdul Rahim Duhaik, a teacher in Talbiseh.
"People are busy digging shelters. No one has any intention of leaving. We will die in our land rather than be evicted."
The Russian-led offensive that began before dawn builds on over a week of ground attacks launched with Russian air support in areas of western Syria that are crucial to Assad's survival and held by rebel groups other than Islamic State, according to Reuters.
Regime-run television, quoting a military source, said the army had begun a military operation in the area after heavy air strikes and artillery barrages early on Thursday.
Recapturing the area north of Homs would help reassert Assad's control over the main population centers of western Syria and secure territory linking Damascus to the coastal heartland of his minority Alawite sect, Reuters reported.
"The regime is actually getting its forces ready in all Homs's northern countryside ... What we fear is that they will follow the same strategy they had in Hama countryside. They actually attacked the fighters in all fronts at once," said local media activist Hassan Abou Nouh.
The Assad army, supported by foreign allies including Iran, has launched several ground offensives to retake insurgent-held territory since Russian jets started air strikes against rebel targets - mainly in western Syria - two weeks ago.
The army operations include a campaign to recapture rebel-held land in Hama, Idlib and Latakia provinces in the northwest. Regional officials have also said the army, backed by Iranian reinforcements, is preparing for a ground operation around the city of Aleppo, close to the Turkish border.
The Syrian military source quoted by state television said the army and its allies had taken control of the villages of Khalidiya and Dar Kabira, between Homs and Teir Malla.
Responding to the reports of civilian deaths, the Syrian military source said Syrian forces and Russian jets do not target areas where civilians are present. He accused al Qaeda's wing in Syria, the Nusra Front, of carrying out a massacre on Thursday so it could blame the deaths on the bombardment.
The source, quoted by state television, said the army had begun a military operation in the north Homs countryside after "concentrated air strikes and heavy preparatory artillery shelling on the terrorist groupings and their bases".
Syria's conflict began in March 2011 as popular protests against four decades of Assad family rule but changed into armed insurgency under a security force crackdown.
More than 250,000 people killed and over 12 million forced to flee their homes.
Activists said at least 33 people, including children and women, have been killed in a Russian air strike stormed their shelter in al-Ghanto town.
Hours later another deadly strike on a bakery in Teir Malla village, about 3 miles (5 km) north of Homs city, has killed least 25 people including, Rawad al Aksah, a commander of insurgent group Liwaa al-Tawhid.
A few miles further north, there were heavy air strikes around the town of Talbiseh and other villages in the area, the Observatory said, as well as fierce clashes on the southern edges of the town and nearby villages.
A resident of Talbiseh said four civilians had been killed there and that a school was hit at around 6 a.m., before classes started. He said jets were still flying in the area.
"There's no end to the aerial observation and the bombardment," said Abdul Rahim Duhaik, a teacher in Talbiseh.
"People are busy digging shelters. No one has any intention of leaving. We will die in our land rather than be evicted."
The Russian-led offensive that began before dawn builds on over a week of ground attacks launched with Russian air support in areas of western Syria that are crucial to Assad's survival and held by rebel groups other than Islamic State, according to Reuters.
Regime-run television, quoting a military source, said the army had begun a military operation in the area after heavy air strikes and artillery barrages early on Thursday.
Recapturing the area north of Homs would help reassert Assad's control over the main population centers of western Syria and secure territory linking Damascus to the coastal heartland of his minority Alawite sect, Reuters reported.
"The regime is actually getting its forces ready in all Homs's northern countryside ... What we fear is that they will follow the same strategy they had in Hama countryside. They actually attacked the fighters in all fronts at once," said local media activist Hassan Abou Nouh.
The Assad army, supported by foreign allies including Iran, has launched several ground offensives to retake insurgent-held territory since Russian jets started air strikes against rebel targets - mainly in western Syria - two weeks ago.
The army operations include a campaign to recapture rebel-held land in Hama, Idlib and Latakia provinces in the northwest. Regional officials have also said the army, backed by Iranian reinforcements, is preparing for a ground operation around the city of Aleppo, close to the Turkish border.
The Syrian military source quoted by state television said the army and its allies had taken control of the villages of Khalidiya and Dar Kabira, between Homs and Teir Malla.
Responding to the reports of civilian deaths, the Syrian military source said Syrian forces and Russian jets do not target areas where civilians are present. He accused al Qaeda's wing in Syria, the Nusra Front, of carrying out a massacre on Thursday so it could blame the deaths on the bombardment.
The source, quoted by state television, said the army had begun a military operation in the north Homs countryside after "concentrated air strikes and heavy preparatory artillery shelling on the terrorist groupings and their bases".
Syria's conflict began in March 2011 as popular protests against four decades of Assad family rule but changed into armed insurgency under a security force crackdown.
More than 250,000 people killed and over 12 million forced to flee their homes.
Zaman Al Wasl
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