BEIRUT (Reuters) - An air strike killed more than 40 members of the jihadist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham in northwestern Syria on Thursday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The group, formerly known as the Nusra Front, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Observatory said the air strike had targeted a Fateh al-Sham base in a rebel-held area west of Aleppo, and it was not clear if it had been carried out by Russian or U.S. planes. The Nusra Front renamed itself Fateh al-Sham last year when it formally dissolved ties to al Qaeda. </s> US claims air strike killed more than 100 al-Qaeda fighters just a day before President Obama left office.

A US air strike on Thursday targeting an al-Qaeda training camp in Syria killed more than 100 fighters, a US defence official said on Friday.

The strike took place just a day before the end of President Barack Obama's presidency and a day after more than 80 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) were killed in US air strikes in Libya.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the air strike was primarily carried out by a B-52 bomber and dropped 14 munitions.

The official added that the strike against the camp took place in Idlib province, west of Aleppo, and there was a high level of confidence that there were no civilian casualties.

A US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes and supporting local forces in Syria to oust ISIL.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Friday that an air strike killed more than 40 members of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly al Qaeda's Syrian branch) in northwestern Syria.

It was not immediately clear if this strike was the same one the US defence official was referring to.

A source in Fateh al-Sham confirmed that dozens had died in air strikes on a training camp in western Aleppo's countryside.

Jabhat Fateh al-Sham split from al-Qaeda in July, a move analysts said was aimed at easing pressure from both Russia and the United States.

However the group is not party to a Russian and Turkish-brokered ceasefire that went into effect on December 30.

According to the monitor, the group has sustained major losses in recent weeks with about 100 of its fighters killed since the start of 2017.

The Syrian conflict started in March 2011 as a largely unarmed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and quickly emerged into a full-scale civil war. </s> In Syria: More than 40 jihadists killed in air strikes – monitor

The jihadist group, formerly known as Al-Nusra Front, is not party to a Russian- and Turkish-brokered ceasefire

More than 40 fighters of former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front were killed in air strikes on their camp in northern Syria late on Thursday, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it could not immediately specify who carried out the strikes in the western part of Aleppo province.

A US-led coalition as well as the Syrian government and its ally Russia have carried out strikes against Fateh al-Sham targets in recent weeks.

"Warplanes, which may have been Russian or coalition aircraft, struck a Fateh al-Sham camp in Jabal al-Sheikh Suleiman," the Britain-based Observatory said.

The jihadist group, formerly known as Al-Nusra Front, is not party to a Russian- and Turkish-brokered ceasefire that went into effect on December 30 and has sustained major losses in air strikes in recent weeks.

Around 100 of its fighters have been killed since the start of the year, according to the monitor.

Fateh al-Sham is allied with Islamist rebel groups that are party to the ceasefire and together they control virtually all of Idlib province in the northwest as well as parts of Aleppo province.

Their alliance has scuppered previous attempts to broker a ceasefire between the government and non-jihadist rebel groups, with Damascus and its allies citing the Fateh al-Sham presence as grounds for continuing hostilities in areas they control.

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Also, Like us on facebook </s> BEIRUT (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE) - More than 40 fighters of former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front were killed in air strikes on their camp in northern Syria late on Thursday (Jan 19), a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it could not immediately specify who carried out the strikes in the western part of Aleppo province.

A US-led coalition as well as the Syrian government and its ally Russia have carried out strikes against Fateh al-Sham targets in recent weeks. </s> Feb. 3 (UPI) -- More than two dozen Syrian rebels on Saturday were killed by Russian cruise-missile attacks after Syrian rebels downed a Russian fighter jet.

The pilot of the Russian Su-25 fighter jet had ejected and landed safely but was later killed by terrorists, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Russia's retaliation of the Syrian attack used precision-guided weapons in a strike that killed more than 30 militants where the plane was downed in the northwest province of Idlib, according to reports.

The incident comes as Syrian government forces, with support by Russian air and Iranian arms, have intensified their offensive into the province, which is one of the last rebel-held strongholds in Syria and host to several al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist groups.

Russian and Syrian airstrikes have raised doubts about the future of Idlib, which has been firmly under the control of Islamist rebels since mid-2015. Most prominent among them is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a coalition of jihadist groups headed by Jabhat al-Nusra, now known as Fateh al-Sham.

Valery Gerasimov, the commander of Russian forces in Syria, called for Tahrir al-Sham's "elimination," saying that would be his top priority in 2018. </s> A U.S. airstrike has killed more than 100 al-Qaida fighters at a military training camp in Syria, a U.S. defense official told VOA Friday.

 

 A Boeing B-52 strategic bomber targeted the camp Thursday. It was located west of Aleppo in Idlib province, the defense official said.

 

 The camp previously had been occupied by the militant group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formally known as al-Nusra Front, before al-Qaida started using it for basic military training.

 

 “This has been a well-known training camp for around two years,” the official added.

 

 All of the militants were in one building at the time of the strike, and no women or children were present at the camp, according to the official. </s> More than 40 fighters of former al-Qaida affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front were killed in air strikes on their camp in northern Syria late on Thursday, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it could not immediately specify who carried out the strikes in the western part of Aleppo province.

A U.S.-led coalition as well as the Syrian government and its ally Russia have carried out strikes against Fateh al-Sham targets in recent weeks.

"Warplanes, which may have been Russian or coalition aircraft, struck a Fateh al-Sham camp in Jabal al-Sheikh Suleiman," the Britain-based Observatory said.

The jihadist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, is not party to a Russian- and Turkish-brokered ceasefire that went into effect on December 30 and has sustained major losses in air strikes in recent weeks.

Around 100 of its fighters have been killed since the start of the year, according to the monitor.

Fateh al-Sham is allied with Islamist rebel groups that are party to the ceasefire and together they control virtually all of Idlib province in the northwest as well as parts of Aleppo province.

Their alliance has scuppered previous attempts to broker a ceasefire between the government and non-jihadist rebel groups, with Damascus and its allies citing the Fateh al-Sham presence as grounds for continuing hostilities in areas they control. </s> The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the country’s air forces conducted a high-precision group strike of the area controlled by Jabhat Fatah al-Sham militants in Idlib, from where a projectile was fired downing Russian Su-25 aircraft.

“A group strike using precision weapons has been conducted in the area controlled by the Jabhat al-Nusra [Jabhat Fatah al-Sham] terrorist group in Idlib province, from where the missile was launched against the [downed] Russian Su-25 airplane. According to radio intercepts, as a result of the strike, more than 30 militants of Jabhat al-Nusra were destroyed,” the report by the Russian Defense Ministry said.

“The plane was flying over the Idlib de-escalation zone,” the military stated.

The Defense Ministry revealed that according to preliminary information as to the possible cause of the downing, the plane may have been shot down by a man-portable air-defense system (MANPAD).

The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the pilot managed to eject from the aircraft and survive, but was killed during a subsequent battle with terrorists.

“The pilot reported on a bailout in an area controlled by rebels Jabhat Fatah al-Sham [previously known as al-Nusra Front]. When conducting a fight with terrorists, the pilot died,” the Defense Ministry said.

According to the ministry, Russia and Turkey, peace guarantor in Syria’s Idlib de-escalation zone, are taking all possible efforts to return the body of the killed pilot.

During the two-years long military operation in Syria, Russia lost four aircraft and four helicopters. According to Russian Defense Minister Yury Borisov, the country’s air forces used modernized Su-25SM ground attack aircraft are being used in Syria.

The Su-25 attack aircraft is designed to destroy small-size mobile and fixed ground objects, as well as low-speed air targets.

The conflict took place on the territory controlled by the Jabhat Fatah al-Sham terror group amid the ongoing military operation against them conducted by the Syrian forces.

Among various terror groups operating in the area, there is also Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an umbrella terrorist group spearheaded this year by the former Al-Nusra Front. While some countries such as the United States have flagged HTS as a terrorist group, Russian officials continue to refer to the Salafist jihadist terrorist organization by its old Al-Nusra moniker. Al-Nusra was the official Syrian branch of al-Qaeda until 2016, when it ostensibly split from the world’s most well-known terrorist network. </s> "A group strike using precision weapons has been conducted in the area controlled by the Jabhat al-Nusra [Jabhat Fatah al-Sham] terrorist group in Idlib province, from where the missile was launched against the [downed] Russian Su-25 airplane. According to radio intercepts, as a result of the strike, more than 30 militants of Jabhat al-Nusra were destroyed," the report by the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The strike followed the downing of the Russian Su-25 aircraft in the area.

"The plane was flying over the Idlib de-escalation zone," the military stated.

​The Defense Ministry revealed that according to preliminary information as to the possible cause of the downing, the plane may have been shot down by a man-portable air-defense system (MANPAD).

​The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the pilot managed to eject from the aircraft and survive, but was killed during a subsequent battle with terrorists.

"The pilot reported on a bailout in an area controlled by rebels Jabhat Fatah al-Sham [previously known as al-Nusra Front]. When conducting a fight with terrorists, the pilot died," the Defense Ministry said.

According to the ministry, Russia and Turkey, peace guarantor in Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone, are taking all possible efforts to return the body of the killed pilot.

During the two-years long military operation in Syria, Russia lost four aircraft and four helicopters. According to Russian Defense Minister Yury Borisov, the country's air forces used modernized Su-25SM ground attack aircraft are being used in Syria.

The Su-25 attack aircraft is designed to destroy small-size mobile and fixed ground objects, as well as low-speed air targets.

The conflict took place on the territory controlled by the Jabhat Fatah al-Sham terror group amid the ongoing military operation against them conducted by the Syrian forces.

READ MORE: Syrian Troops Start Op to Eliminate Nusra Front Militants in Idlib — Russian MoD

Among various terror groups operating in the area, there is also Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an umbrella terrorist group spearheaded this year by the former Al-Nusra Front. While some countries such as the United States have flagged HTS as a terrorist group, Russian officials continue to refer to the Salafist jihadist terrorist organization by its old Al-Nusra moniker. Al-Nusra was the official Syrian branch of al-Qaeda until 2016, when it ostensibly split from the world's most well-known terrorist network.
An airstrike kills more than 40 Jabhat Fateh al-Sham fighters at a jihadist camp west of Aleppo. It is currently unknown whether American or Russian planes carried out the attack.