Assad regime shelling kills 7 civilians in Syria's Idlib

At least seven civilians were killed and six others injured in attacks of Syrian regime forces and Iran-backed militias in de-escalation zones in northern Syria, according to a civil defense agency official Tuesday.

"The Assad regime attacked the Seraqib and Khan Shaykhun districts as well as the al-Khanbushia village in the evening," Mustafa Haj Yousuf, the head of the White Helmets civil defense agency told Anadolu Agency.

"In these attacks, seven civilians, including three children, lost their lives and at least six others were injured."

Last September, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression would be strictly prohibited.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.