At least nine civilians were killed and dozens injured in regime attacks on opposition-held areas in war-torn Syria on Saturday, according to a civil defense official and residents.

A regime warplane struck residential areas in Al Dana town in the northwestern Idlib province, civil defense official Yahya Jawad said.

“Eight people were killed and 15 others injured in the attack,” he said.

He said the airstrike has caused heavy damage in the area.

Saeed Ali, a local resident, said many women and children were still trapped under the debris of destroyed buildings.

“Efforts are underway to extract them from under the rubble,” he said.

Meanwhile, opposition spokesman in Homs Khalil Adel said one civilian was killed and 12 others were injured in a regime raid on the Homs neighborhood of Al-Waer in western Syria.

Since civil war in Syria erupted in March 2011, more than 250,000 people have been killed, according to the UN. The Syrian Center for Policy Research puts the death toll at more than 470,000.

The war has also left nearly half of the population displaced.

PHOTO CAPTION

People inspect the damage at a site hit by airstrikes in the opposition-held city of Idlib, Syria February 7, 2017. REUTERS

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