Regime shelling kills five in Syria's Idlib

Five civilians were killed in artillery shelling by regime forces and Iran-backed militias in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on Tuesday, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency.

The attacks targeted the city of Khan Shaykhun and Maaret al-Numan, Mustafa Haj Yousuf, the White Helmets official in Idlib, said.

He said six other civilians were injured in the shelling.

Regime attacks in the de-escalation zone of Idlib are estimated to have killed at least 68 civilians and injured hundreds since the start of this year.

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 ferocity.