Airstrikes on oil market in north Syria inflict casualties

Airstrikes on a fuel market in a rebel-held village in northern Syria killed and wounded dozens on Tuesday and destroyed several tanker trucks, two Syrian opposition monitoring groups were quoted by ABC News as saying.

The market in the village of Maaret al-Naasan mostly sells diesel fuel brought from areas under the control of the Daesh group. The airstrikes are likely part of a campaign to target the oil industry that is a major source of income for Daesh. The extremist group controls nearly half of Syria.

Russian warplanes as well as those of the US-led coalition have destroyed hundreds of tanker trucks that are used to ferry oil from fields under the control of Daesh in eastern Syria to other parts of the country. The warplanes have also struck oil facilities in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour in recent weeks.

The Local Coordination Committees said Tuesday's airstrikes on Maaret al-Naasan were carried out by Russian warplanes and that they killed and wounded dozens of people.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the airstrikes killed and wounded at least 35 people. He said the warplanes were believed to have been Russian.

Also Tuesday, Al-Manar TV reported that Hezbollah militants killed Daesh religious chief Abu Abdullah Amer in the mountainous Qalamoun region that borders Lebanon. The channel, which is run by Hezbollah, said that a Hezbollah fighter detonated a roadside bomb which struck Amer's passing convoy.

Sources: MENA