Syrian regime attacks kill 5 in Idlib: White Helmets

The Assad regime carried out several attacks in northern Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone, killing at least five civilians, local sources said Friday.

According to the White Helmets civil-defense agency, regime airstrikes and artillery targeted the towns of Khan Shaykhun, Maarat al-Numaan and Kafr Nabl, along with a handful of villages.

The five casualties occurred in Khan Shaykhun and Kafr Nabl, the White Helmets said.

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.

Last September, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Syria's northern Idlib province into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression would be expressly prohibited.