PHOTO: An Islamic State parade in Raqqa in northern Syria (File)

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At least 42 people were killed over the weekend in Russian air strikes in Raqqa Province in northern Syria, according to activists.

The Islamic State controls most of the province, including the city of Raqqa with an estimated 300,000 residents. It has been targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes since autumn 2014 and by Russian attacks since last September.

“The areas targeted by the Russian air strikes on Saturday were mostly residential areas and not for ISIL [the Islamic State],” Ghareb al-Omawi, a media activist from the Sound and Picture group, told Al Jazeera. “Two hospitals were also hit in the air strikes in addition to public places. Several people were also injured and have been taken to hospitals in the suburbs.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry, which usually hails Moscow’s attacks on “terrorists”, did not mention the Raqqa strikes yesterday.

Russian bombing has killed at least 1,300 civilians since operations began on September 30. The Syrian Network for Human Rights said attacks by the US-led coalition killed 271 civilians throughout 2015.

Jaish al-Islam Rebels and Islamic State Exchange Prisoners

The leading rebel faction Jaish al-Islam and the Islamic State have exchanged prisoners south of Damascus.

Opposition site Eldorar said Jaish al-Islam released 11 ISIS fighters in return for 11 civilians held by the militants.

The two sides have clashed in areas to the east and south of Damascus.

Islamic State Rockets Kill Woman, Injure Student in Southeastern Turkey

An Islamic State rocket, fired from Syria, has killed a woman in southeastern Turkey.

A student was injured when a hit a schoolyard in Kilis Province, about 8 km (5 miles) from the Syrian frontier, at 9:30 a.m. on Monday.

The Governor’s office said the rocket was one of three that crossed the border. Military sources said that ISIS was responsible and that Turkish forces responded to the attack.

The Islamic State has been in a battle with rebels since early 2014 for northern Aleppo Province near the Turkish border. In recent days, the rebels, supported by Turkish fire, have regained a series of villages.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said last week that the Turkish military had killed 200 ISIS members in Syria and Iraq, retaliating for a bombing earlier this month in Istanbul that left 10 people dead and 15 injured.

Reports: Islamic State Captures Large Weapons Depot in Deir ez-Zor City

The Islamic State has reportedly captured a large weapons depot in its offensive in northwest Deir ez-Zor city in eastern Syria.

ISIS occupied the depot as it took over the Ayyash section of Deir ez-Zor last weekend and attacked the neighboring district of al-Bughayliyah. It claimed the victory in a statement:

The pro-regime Al-Masdar News acknowledges the loss of the depot and the Ayyash fuel station, although it claims that the Syrian military has retaken al-Bughayliyah.

To check supplies to the ISIS offensive, the Syrian air force destroyed the Buqaan Bridge across the Euphrates River near the town of al-Bukamal, close to the Iraqi border.

DESTROYED BRIDGE ALBUKAMAL

One of the targeted sites was the Buqaan Bridge that links the eastern and western banks of the Deir Ezzor Governorate near the large city of Abukamaal in the province’s southern countryside.

The Syrian Air Force struck this strategic bridge that is used by ISIS to transport supplies to their fighters combating the Syrian Armed Forces in the provincial capital.

The Syrian Air Force struck this strategic bridge that is used by ISIS to transport supplies to their fighters combating the Syrian Armed Forces in the provincial capital.

Syrian State media claimed that ISIS killed up to 300 civilians, most by execution, during the offensive. However, the opposition Deir ez-Zor 24 News and other sources have denied the reports, saying that only the deaths of about 15 pro-regime militia have been confirmed.

See Syria Daily, Jan 17: Claims — Islamic State Kills Scores of Civilians in Deir ez-Zor in East

A Syrian “field commander” also told Russia’s pro-Assad Sputnik News that the reports of the abduction of 400 civilians are untrue.

But Syria’s Foreign Ministry continues to maintain that there was a “bloody massacre”, writing statements to the UN about “ISIS hordes….murdering, slaughtering, and shooting innocent civilians, claiming the lives of more than 280 [people]” as well as the abduction of 400. It claimed that ISIS was supported “by intelligence agencies of certain states, particularly Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey”.

The Ministry also criticized “the destructive role played by France whose diplomacy has become proficient in firing off nonsense which encourages the committing of terrorist acts by demonizing the forces that are actually fighting terrorism”.