Almost 200 civilians killed by Russian air strikes in Syria over the past month

At least 595 people have been killed by Russian air strikes in Syria nearly a month into Moscow's military campaign, a monitoring group has said.

About two-thirds of those killed by Moscow's attacks since September 30 were opposition fighters and the rest were civilians, including 48 children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Thursday.

The Observatory said it had documented the deaths of 185 civilians, 131 fighters of the Islamic State group and 279 members of opposition groups after Russia carried out strikes in 10 of the country's 14 provinces.

Russia says its aerial campaign targets ISIL and other "terrorists", but rebel forces and their backers accuse Moscow of focusing on moderate fighters instead.

Several medical groups have also accused Russia of strikes that have hit field clinics and hospitals in Syria.

The international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday that air strikes in northern and central Syria have hit at least 12 hospitals in recent weeks, killing at least 35 patients and medical staff and wounding more than 70 others.

The attacks have also caused the displacement of thousands of civilians, the MSF said.