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DAMASCUS, Aug. 14-- The Syrian ground forces shelled rebel-held areas in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo provinces in northern Syria on Friday, a war monitor reported. The Syrian forces pounded the vicinity of the town of Bara in Idlib countryside by heavy artillery, and targeted the villages of Kafr-Ama and al-Qasar in the western countryside of Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Meanwhile, the Syrian ground forces struck rebel-held areas in the Zawiya Mountain in Idlib amid the flight of Russian reconnaissance planes in the region, said the observatory. For their side, the rebel factions bombarded Syrian military positions in the city of Saraqeb in the eastern countryside of Idlib with no reports on casualties. Areas in Idlib, which is the last major rebel stronghold in Syria, have been included in a cease-fire deal reached between Turkey and Russia in March. The deal was largely held but violations have been reported in that region because of the presence of the al-Qaida-linked groups. | 
