In this file photo taken on Sep 9, 2021, Turkey-backed factions of Syrian fighters drive in vehicles during a military parade after announcing the formation of a new unit, near Bizaah in a rebel-held area north of Syria's Aleppo province. (BAKR ALKASEM / AFP)
DAMASCUS – Russian warplanes carried out on Saturday multiple strikes against the Turkey-backed rebels in the northern countryside of Aleppo province in northern Syria, a war monitor reported.
On its website, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based watchdog group, said "Russian jets have executed three airstrikes on positions of the Turkey-backed factions in Basofan area in the southwest of Afrin city in the northern countryside of Aleppo."
Russian warplanes also struck positions of the rebels in Idlib and Hama provinces, the observatory added, without providing information on casualties.
Since 2018, Turkish forces and Turkey-backed rebels have controlled several areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo as part of a Turkish campaign against the Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.
ALSO READ: Russia's US ambassador expects compromise in Syria talks at UN
The Syrian government regards the Kurdish fighters as separatist forces but it also believes the Turkish forces' actions are foreign occupation.