200 children among 1,000 civilians killed by Russia bombing raids in Syria

More than 1,000 civilians are now thought to have been killed in the four months of Russian air strikes in Syria. At least 200 children were among the 1,015 civilians to have died since September 30, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The strikes have also killed 893 Islamic State group jihadists and 1,141 other opposition militants, including members of Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, said the monitoring group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its reports. The total toll of 3,049 represents an increase of nearly 700 deaths in just three weeks.

The casualty total keeps climbing. We have estimates of several hundred civilians killed through the use of unguided munitions on civilian areas and opposition groups fighting (Syrian President Bashar al-)Assad. That I deplore

British foreign secretary Michael Fallon

Hours before the figures were announced, the Russia military was proudly showing off the military might it is using to bomb Syria. Military leaders brought journalists to the beefed-up military base on the Syria coast, where fighter jets were seen taking off one after the other. In four months, Russia has completed 6,000 missions over Syria. Defence ministry spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said that over the previous four days Russian warplanes had flown 157 sorties striking 579 targets in six Syrian regions. Russia is a staunch ally of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad and has co-ordinated its strikes with Damascus, saying it is targeting IS and other terrorist groups. But activists and rebels accuse Moscow of focusing more on moderate and Islamist opposition fighters than IS.

There is no military solution to the (Syrian) crisis. We need a political solution

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif