Warplanes drop incendiary bombs on Syrian rebel town

Syrian or Russian warplanes dropped incendiary bombs on areas of Idlib and Hama provinces just days after a deadly gas attack in the region, activists and a monitoring group reported on Monday.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian jets had used an incendiary substance called thermite in bombs they dropped over the towns of Saraqeb in Idlib and al-Latamenah in Hama, further south, on Saturday and Sunday.
Moscow and the Syrian army were not immediately available for comment.
Videos posted on social media purportedly from Saraqeb on Sunday showed flaming materials hitting the ground and spreading large fires.
A rescue worker in Saraqeb said warplanes had dropped phosphorus bombs there, but he had not heard of the use of thermite.
He said use of phosphorus was not a new development.
'It's normal, these are often used,' said Laith Abdullah of the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, a rescue group working in rebel-held areas.
The Observatory said thermite had first been used in the Syrian conflict in June 2016 by the Syrian government.
Incendiary bombs are banned by an international convention, however Syria has not signed the agreement that forbids them in areas with a large civilian population.
They are described by witnesses as 'fireballs' because they ignite while falling and light up the sky.
The bomb's flammable thermite content burns at 2,200C and ignites fires that are hard to put out.
It is the hottest burning man-made substance and can burn human flesh down to the bone.
Russia was accused of using the bombs last year, when the country's Moscow-funded news channel broadcast footage appearing to show a Russian aircraft equipped with banned bombs.
Russia Today aired footage showing RBK-500 ZAB-2.5SM bombs attached to a Su-34 fighter-ground attack aircraft, experts from Human Rights Watch concluded last year.
The bombings came after the United States launched cruise missiles at an air base in western Syria on Friday.
The missile strike was a response to what Washington said was a gas attack by Syrian warplanes in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib that killed more than 80 people.
Syria denies using chemical substances and denies it carried out the attack.
Following Syria's suspected sarin nerve agent attack, the US military fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at the Assad controlled al-Shayrat military airfield near Homs at 8.45pm (EDT) on Thursday.
But the military action sparked a furious response from President Vladimir Putin, who called the airstrikes an 'illegal act of aggression'.