Men mourn as they attend the funeral of four students in the Maaret Al Naasan village in Idlib province, Syria. AP

The shelling targeted the village of Maaret Al Naasan in Idlib province, which is home to more than 3 million people, many of them internally displaced by the country's civil war which erupted after a brutal military crackdown against a popular uprising in 2011.

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Hajj Ahmed, the principal at Al Amal school, said the attack happened at about 11:15am and that one of the students was in the ninth grade. Another was in the seventh grade and two were in the eighth grade.

"They were on their way to start their school day and this strike by the criminal regime hit," he said.

Men hold the body of one of the four students in the Maaret Al Naasan village in Idlib province. AP

The boys were killed about 50 metres (165 feet) away from the school and their blood-splattered school bags were still on the ground some time after the shelling. Their bags had the markings of the UN children's agency, UNICEF.

The bodies were later put in black bags and buried in the village's cemetery.

"This is a stark reminder that the war on children continues,” said UNICEF spokesperson Juliette Touma. "Every child in Syria, wherever they are, has the right to go to school in safety.”

Touma said the rebel-held region is home to 1 million children, many of them displaced several times during the conflict. She added that 70% of children killed in Syria last year were in and around Idlib province.

Touma said there have been 751 attacks on educational facilities and personnel since the conflict began.

Associated Press