AMMAN: Bombs dropped by suspected Russian warplanes killed at least 12 Syrian schoolchildren on Monday when they hit a classroom in a rebel-held town in Aleppo province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

A teacher also died in the air strike that hit the town of Injara, some 15km west of Aleppo city, and there were reports of others wounded, some critically, the monitor said.

Also read: Bomb attacks kill 41 school children in Syria

Social media footage released by opposition activists showed a classroom with destroyed benches and textbooks lying on the floor stained with blood. However, the footage could not be independently verified.

There was no immediate comment from the Russian defence ministry.

In Geneva, a spokesman for the United Nations children's fund (Unicef) said it was looking into the reports of the raid.

The Kremlin launched air strikes over Syria in September saying it wanted to help President Bashar al-Assad, its main Middle East ally, defeat Islamic State and other militant groups.

Read more: Russia begins air strikes in Syria as war enters new phase

Rescue workers and rights groups say the bombings have killed scores of civilians at busy market places and in residential areas away from the front-lines.

Russia, however, denies the allegations.

Amnesty International said last month that Moscow's actions had violated humanitarian law, while US officials say Russia used fewer precision-guided munitions than the United States and its allies.

End of bombings wanted before talks

Syria's opposition co-ordinator Riad Hijab accused Russia of killing dozens of children after a bombing raid on Monday and said such action meant the opposition could not negotiate with the Syrian government.

“We want to negotiate, but to do that the conditions have to be there,” Hijab said after meeting French President Francois Hollande.

“We cannot negotiate with the regime when there are foreign forces bombing the Syrian people.”

He said Russian warplanes had carried out a “massacre” at Injara in north-west Aleppo where three schools had been hit killing several schoolchildren and injuring dozens.

Also read: 16 dead, 30 wounded in three blasts in northeast Syria

Hollande said there was no future for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and called for immediate humanitarian aid for the besieged parts of Syria, notably Madaya.

The government and opposition are due to meet in Geneva for talks on January 25.