Syria: 22 killed in air strikes on town in northwest
July 8, 2016At least 22 civilians including a child were killed in air strikes on an Al-Qaeda-held town in northwest Syria on Friday, a monitoring group said, according to AFP.
Dozens of people were also wounded in the strikes on Darkush, near the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, updating an earlier casualty toll.
“The toll of the attack is now 22 people, including a child and seven women,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
Darkush is held by Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and allied rebel groups, which control the northwestern province of Idlib.
A Facebook page run by activists in the town posted photographs showing a column of gray smoke curling out of a town tucked in verdant hills.
It said some of the wounded had been transferred to nearby hospitals, and others across the border inside Turkey.
The Britain-based Observatory had no immediate word on who carried out the strikes but said it was likely to have been either the Syrian government or its ally Russia, rather than the U.S.-led coalition.
Russia launched air strikes in support of the Damascus regime in September, one year after the international coalition bombing the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Iraq extended its raids to Syria.
Washington and its allies — engaged in their own air war — have accused Russia of targeting moderate rebels and of seeking to prop up Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.
The attacks come two days after the Syrian army announced it would observe a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire for Eid al-Fitr, the feast marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
It was unclear if Al-Nusra was included, but the Al-Qaeda affiliate and its jihadist rival, ISIS, were excluded from a broader truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February.
In fact, Al-Nusra called to intensify the attacks against the Syrian regime during the previous ceasefire.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Barack Obama had agreed to “intensify” military coordination in Syria.
The White House said the two leaders had “confirmed their commitment to defeating ISIL (ISIS) and the Al-Nusra Front”.
The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its information, says it determines what aircraft carried out raids based on their location, flight patterns and the types of planes and munitions involved.
More than 280,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country’s civil war erupted in 2011, starting with peaceful protests that swiftly escalated into an armed rebellion increasingly dominated by jihadist groups.
AFP contributed to this report.
Similar posts
-
Israel Is Held To A Higher Standard Than Any Country
April 25, 2024In the intricate tapestry of global affairs, one nation stands out for enduring scrutiny and condem...
-
Israel Has The Most Moral Military In The World
April 10, 2024In the heart of a region often riddled with conflict, Israel stands out not only for its technologi...
-
The Resilience of the Israeli People
April 2, 2024Visitors from around the world have seen Hamas's October 7th Massacre's destruction in southern Isr...
-
Israel: Small Size, Big Impact
March 21, 2024Nestled along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel is a land of immense historical sig...
-
Israelis Are Fighting For Their Lives
February 21, 2024By Jonathan S. Tobin The world looks a lot different from Kibbutz Kfar Aza than it does in the U...
-
Over 2 Million Arabs Live In Israel
January 23, 2024In the complex landscape of the Middle East, where diverse cultures and identities intersect, Israe...
-
'Fauda' Star Idan Amedi Injured Fighting in Gaza
January 8, 2024Despite the severity of his injuries, Amedi's father assured Israeli news channels that his life is...
-
Israel Is A Great Country To Live In
December 28, 2023Nestled at the crossroads of the Middle East, Israel stands as a vibrant and dynamic nation, offeri...