Moscow has denied any involvement in bloody airstrikes on a Syrian school as its relations with the West took another hit and the European Union slapped more sanctions on its ally Damascus. Zakharova said claims Russian and Syrian warplanes had conducted the strikes were "a lie". On a nearby front, the ministry said Syrian and Russian warplanes had not bombed the northern city of Aleppo in the past nine days. Syrian and Russian warplanes regularly bomb Idlib, but airstrikes have intensified in recent weeks, according to the Observatory. The rocket fire hit two west Aleppo neighbourhoods, with one of the attacks striking a school, said the official Sana news agency.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 28, 2016 16:17 UTC