Russian airstrikes on Syria continue amid fears that civilians are being targeted

Russian warplanes unleashed a new wave of air strikes against opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, amid concerns that many of Moscow's targets were civilian.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Paris on Friday to discuss the air raids with his counterpart Francois Hollande, as Moscow maintained that the attacks were aimed at the Islamic State group and other "terrorist organisations".

France is a member of the US-led coalition striking IS in Syria and Iraq. The countries of the coalition on Thursday called on Russia to cease its aerial campaign which they said was hitting the Syrian opposition and civilians.

"These military actions constitute a further escalation and will only fuel more extremism and radicalisation," said the coalition, which also includes Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Russian jets on Thursday hit areas in the suburbs of Hama and Idlib , all areas under the control of loose coalitions of rebel groups, including the Western-backed Free Syrian Army.

Activists on the ground said that they believed that the majority of the attacks hit civilian targets, a claim that Moscow, a key ally of Assad, denies.

In the Hama suburb of Habeet, an air strike at about 08:30pm local time killed three civilians, including a 5-year-old girl, and injured 12 others, activists said.