SUSPECTED Russian air strikes killed at least 54 civilians in rebel- and jihadist-held areas of Syria in the past 24 hours, a monitoring group said yesterday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said strikes on Wednesday had killed 29 civilians, including nine women and three children, in villages controlled by the Islamic State group in the eastern Deir Ezzor province and its provincial capital of the same name.

The strikes killed another 15 civilians, including five young brothers, in and around the city of Al-Bab, an IS bastion in the northern province of Aleppo, the Observatory said.

Ten more civilians, including seven children, were killed in Russian strikes in Ghanto, a town held by Islamist rebels in the central province of Homs, it said.

The Britain-based monitor relies on a network of activists on the ground and says it distinguishes between Syrian, Russian and U.S.-led coalition aircraft based on flight patterns, as well as the type of planes and ordnance used.