Air strikes Friday by Syria's regime and its Russian ally killed 15 civilians, most of them in a camp for the displaced in Idlib province, a war monitor said.

Four children where among 13 civilians killed in a Russian air strike on a camp for the displaced near the town of Hass in southern Idlib, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Two other children were killed in regime air raids in different parts of the region controlled by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the monitor said.

The strikes came as regime forces battled HTS jihadists and allied rebels in the region, where fierce fighting Friday claimed the lives of 13 loyalists and 18 jihadists and allied rebels, the Observatory said.

Over the past week, pro-regime fighters have advanced on the southern edges of Idlib province, with the aim of capturing the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which lies on a key highway coveted by the regime.

The road in question runs through Idlib, connecting government-held Damascus with the northern city of Aleppo, which was retaken by regime forces from rebels in December 2016.

HTS has since January controlled most of Idlib province as well as parts of neighbouring Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces.

A buffer zone deal brokered by Russia and Turkey last year was supposed to protect the Idlib region's inhabitants from an all-out regime offensive, but it was never fully implemented.

Regime and Russian air strikes and shelling since late April have killed more than 820 civilians, according to the Observatory.

The violence has displaced 400,000 people, according to the United Nations.

AFP correspondents have reported seeing dozens of families flee fighting over the past few days, heading north in trucks stacked high with belongings.

Syria's conflict has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions at home and abroad since starting with the brutal repression of anti-regime protests in 2011.

Hezbollah shows 'missile arsenal' used against Israeli warship
Beirut (AFP) Aug 16, 2019 - Hezbollah released footage of what it says are anti-ship missiles of the kind it used 13 years ago against Israel before marking on Friday its self-declared "victory" in the 2006 war.

Israel has fought several conflicts against the Iran-backed Hezbollah, the last in 2006.

More than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, the majority soldiers, died during the last conflict but many in Israel consider the war a failure as Hezbollah was not defeated.

Since 2006, Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that the Shiite group maintains an arsenal of several hundred long-range missiles that could be used to target Israel.

On Thursday night, a series of videos on Hezbollah-run media purported to show at least five anti-ship missiles stored inside metallic containers in an unknown location.

Hezbollah's logo could be seen printed on the warheads.

It was not clear when the footage was filmed.

A Hezbollah naval commander, identified as Haj Jalal, told Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV on Thursday that the anti-ship missiles are of the same kind used in a 2006 attack on one of the Israeli navy's top warships, the INS Hanit.

The warship was struck off the coast of Beirut in July 2006, killing four soldiers and causing extensive damage to the corvette.

It was the first direct strike on an Israeli warship in decades and Hezbollah celebrated it as among its biggest victories of the 34-day war.

An investigation found that the missile hit because officials did not believe Hezbollah had such sophisticated technology and so didn't turn on anti-missile systems.

On Thursday, Hezbollah released what it said are videos of the 2006 missile attack.

One clip purported to show men dressed in Hezbollah uniform tracking the Israeli warship using a radar.

It also purported to show a truck-mounted launcher firing two anti-ship missiles, that were filmed streaking through the night sky.

Shortly after, the video shows a distant blaze.

In the years since the 2006 war, the discovery of offshore gas fields in Israeli waters has prompted investment in new warships to protect non-moving gas platforms.

Haj Jalal on Thursday told Al-Manar that an anti-ship arsenal is significant to Hezbollah because the "sea serves as an economic lung for the Zionist enemy."

He mentioned "offshore gas fields, some of which are still being explored."

"A threat at sea is a threat to Israel's national security," said Haj Jalal, whose face was blurred during the interview, a common security measure by the Shiite group.

On Friday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah gave a televised speech as the movement marked the anniversary of what it called its military "victory" in Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border.

He said that the 2006 war has helped Hezbollah develop "a military system to defend our villages, towns and cities."

"If (Israel) enters southern Lebanon... you will see a live broadcast of the destruction of Israeli brigades," he warned.

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Syria safe zone agreement with Turkey will come in 'stages': Pentagon
Washington (AFP) Aug 14, 2019
An agreement between the United States and Turkey to establish a safe zone in northwest Syria will be implemented gradually, with some operations beginning soon, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday. "We are currently reviewing options for the Joint Coordination Center with our Turkish military counterparts," Defense Department spokesman Commander Sean Robertson told AFP. "The security mechanism will be implemented in stages," Robertson said. "The United States is prepared to begin implemen ... read more