At least seven civilians, including five children, were killed Monday in air strikes on northwest Syria by regime ally Russia despite a truce declared by Moscow, a war monitor said.

The raids hit several villages held by jihadists and rebels in the western countryside of Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Three girls were killed in the village of Kfar Taal while four civilians, including two other children, died in separate strikes that hit other villages in the area, said the Britain-based monitor.