Russia killed 792 civilians in Syria and helped displace 130,000: Reports

Three months of Russian air strikes in Syria have killed more than 2,300 people, a third of them civilians, a monitoring group said on Wednesday. 

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Moscow's strikes on Syria, which began in September, have killed 2,371 people so far. The toll includes 792 civilians, among them 180 children.

The raids killed 655 fighters from the Islamic State group, which Russia - a long-time supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - says it is targeting along with "other terrorist groups".

Another 924 opposition fighters - ranging from US-backed rebels to members of Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the Nusra Front - were also killed, the UK-based monitoring group said.

The report comes a day after US State Department spokesman Mark Toner warned that Russian air srikes were partially responsible for displacing 130,000 people and also accused Moscow of killing “hundreds of civilians, including first responders, (and hitting) medical facilities, schools and markets". 

He said that the figures were obtained from “credible human rights organisations".

Amnesty International also last week said Russian raids had killed hundreds of civilians, many in targeted strikes that could constitute war crimes. 

Moscow has angrily denied reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Syrian rights groups that its air campaign in support of Assad's government is hitting civilians.

It also insists that it is chiefly targeting the Islamic State and is a key player in trying to push for a fresh round of UN-backed peace talks expected to take place in New York next month. It has called Amnesty's work on the issue "fabricated".