By Halit Suleyman

ALEPPO, Syria

Four medical personnel were injured Thursday when a Russian warplane targeted a blood bank facility in the opposition-held city of Saraqib in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, a local civil defense source told Anadolu Agency.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears of reprisal, said vital medical equipment had been destroyed by the airstrike.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which had erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.