At least 44 people were killed after warplanes, suspected to be Russian, attacked a rebel-held village in Syria on Thursday, according to a Syrian human rights monitor, Reuters reported. Nearly 80 people were injured in the airstrikes in Zardana village.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that six children were among those who died. It said the attack occurred after members of the Muslim community had broken their Ramzan fast. The airstrikes were the biggest attack in the area this year.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Syrian Civil Defence, a volunteer organisation in Syria, said the attack on Zardana overnight on Thursday involved a ‘double tap’, in which planes returned to bomb the same area after paramedics arrived at the scene.

The Russian defence ministry, however, denied that it had carried out the attacks. Fierce fighting took place in the past 24 hours between a large group of the Nusra Front terrorist organisation and opposition fighters from Jaysh al-Ahrar, said a statement released by the ministry according to Russia Today.

In May, at least 23 people were killed when Israel launched missile strikes on Syria. Israel said it had launched the airstrikes after Iranian forces fired 20 missiles towards its military outposts in the Golan Heights.