By Burak Karacaoglu and Eshref Musa

IDLIB, Syria

Eight people were killed and at least 40 others injured in Russian airstrikes in the Idlib province in northern Syria on Sunday, according to an official of the White Helmets civil defense agency.

“In airstrike attacks in the evening hours on the Kafr Nabl district and the village of Masaran conducted by warplanes belonging to Russia eight civilians died, at least 40 civilians were injured,” White Helmets director in Idlib, Mustafa Haj Yusuf told Anadolu Agency.

Yusuf said the airstrikes were also conducted in Idlib's Saraqib, Khan Shaykhun and Maarretinuman districts including the village of Tell Mardikh.

Yusuf said that search and rescue operations were ongoing in the region.

There are worries that the number of dead could increase, Yusuf added.

Located in northern Syria near the Turkish border, the Idlib province was declared a "de-escalation zone".

Controlled by anti-regime armed groups, the province has been under intense airstrikes for the last two months.

In January alone, 211 civilians were killed and 1,447 wounded.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

While UN officials say hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, Syrian regime officials say the death toll is closer to 10,000.