At least 47 civilians were killed in air strikes carried by Russian warplanes on a village in eastern Syria on Saturday, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven children and one woman were among the dead in the village of Khasham in Syria's oil-rich Deir Ezzor province.

Russia began its air operations in Syria on Sept. 30 with the aim of supporting the embattled Assad Regime.

While the Kremlin says the airstrikes target Daesh, some members of the western NATO alliance believe Russia is targeting groups opposed to Assad, including some that enjoy U.S. and Turkish support.

According to a report released earlier this month by Amnesty International, Russian airstrikes in Syria have killed "hundreds" of civilians over the last three months.