Witnesses and civil defense officials said that at least 10 people were killed in Syrian army artillery attacks and Russian air raids this week in a spike in bombardments in the last major area of the country still in rebel hands.

They said seven civilians including a woman and a child were killed when their home in the village of Ibleen in the mountainous Jabal al-Zawya region in southern Idlib came under fire from Syrian army outposts.

At least four other rebels were killed when their convoy was hit by a Russian jet when they approached the village to rescue survivors, two civil defence workers told Reuters.

Syria’s northwest corner is the scene of sporadic violence but has not seen a resumption of widespread bombing since a deal last year ended a Russian-backed air campaign that displaced over a million people.

“There has been an escalation in the last few days of artillery rockets and long-range missiles,” Rasheed added.