Has Russia been using cluster bombs?

The images were taken in the opposition-controlled Merce neighbourhood of Aleppo, following an air strike which killed 10 people and injured 15 others today.

The use of cluster bombs, which release a number of projectiles, has been banned by many countries.  

They are known to kill and maim civilians after bombing raids because many do not explode on impact. 

This is not the first time Russia has been accused of using cluster bombs in Syria. 

In October, dramatic footage emerged purportedly showing the bombs exploding over Syrian rebels in southern Idlib.

The video showed dozens of glowing, red bomblets being fired into the air from the ground.

It then cuts to show hundreds of small but violent explosions lighting up the landscape and sending plumes of smoke rising into the evening sky. 

Russia claims to be firing high-precision weapons on Islamic State targets in Syria, but there are growing concerns among human rights groups and western governments that cluster munitions are being deployed in populated areas.

One hundred and eight countries have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions which bans the use, transfer and stockpile of cluster bombs.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it unearthed 'disturbing' evidence of an 'advanced type' of Russian-made cluster bomb that was used in an airstrike on the village of Kafr Halab, south-west Aleppo on October 4.

HRW claimed the bomb was either fired by the Russian jets or given to the Syrian Air Force to use as part of their joint offensive against rebel groups in the country.

HRW also pointed to several amateur videos of cluster bomb explosions - which have not been independently verified - as further proof of 'air-dropped and ground-launched' cluster bomb attacks on Aleppo, Hama and Idlib.

HRW has documented the use of cluster munitions in the war in Syria since 2012. It claims Syrian government forces began using air-dropped cluster bombs in mid-2012 and then cluster munition rockets.

ISIS also used cluster munition rockets in the second half of 2014, according to the human rights organisation.

On October 1, the Cluster Munition Coalition urged Russian to refrain from using any cluster munitions in its military action in Syria, which began on September 30.

(dailymail.co.uk)