ZCZC
BFF-24
SYRIA-CONFLICT-ALEPPO LEAD
Jihadist rocket fire kills 12 civilians in Syria: state media
DAMASCUS, June 17, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Rocket fire has killed 12 civilians in
a regime-held village in northwestern Syria, state news agency SANA has said
blaming former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham for the attack.
SANA said 15 people were also wounded late Sunday in the attack on Al-
Wadihi village south of Aleppo city and said HTS, which controls parts of
Aleppo’s countryside as well as most of neighbouring Idlib, was responsible.
It published graphic pictures purporting to show some of the victims in a
hospital in the aftermath of the attack, including of bandaged men and
children lying on stretchers, thick blankets covering their bodies.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the same death toll —
saying five children were among those killed — and also blamed jihadists
based in rural Aleppo for the attack.
But the Britain-based monitor did not specify whether HTS or other allied
jihadist groups were responsible.
The attack came as Syrian government forces have been locked in clashes
with HTS fighters in nearby Hama province.
More than 35 combattants, mostly regime forces, were killed on Saturday in
battles in Hama’s countryside, according to the Observatory.
Parts of Aleppo, Hama and Idlib are supposed to be protected from a
massive regime offensive by a buffer zone deal that Russia and Turkey signed
in September.
But it was never fully implemented as jihadists refused to withdraw from a
planned demilitarised zone.
In January, HTS extended its administrative control over the region, which
includes most of Idlib province as well as adjacent slivers of Latakia, Hama
and Aleppo provinces.
The Syrian government and Russia have upped their bombardment of the
region since late April, killing nearly 400 civilians, according to the
Observatory.
Syria’s war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions
since it started in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1302 hrs