Children among at least 14 killed in Syria missile strike
ANKARA (AA/AFP) – The death toll from a missile strike in Syria’s northwestern town of al-Bab on Friday has climbed to 14, according to reports from the ground.
Children are among the fatalities in the strike, which targeted a part of the town with heavy civilian presence.
At least 37 more people have been injured.
There has been no claim of responsibility so far.
The bloodshed comes against a backdrop of increased tensions pitting Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces backed by the regime against Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies.
Artillery fire by the Syrian regime on the border town of Al-Bab, which is under the control of Turkish-controlled Syrian forces killed nine civilians on Friday morning, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“Children were among the victims and at least 30 others were wounded,” the UK-based Observatory said, adding that the shelling originated from regime positions.
A spokesman for the Kurdish-dominated SDF denied any involvement.
The shelling struck a busy market place, where residents and first responders rushed to assist and evacuate the wounded.
The strike had ripped through a busy market area.
Violence between Turkey and Syria’s Kurds escalated this week with a deadly Turkish strike killing 17 regime and Kurdish fighters in retaliation for Kurdish fire inside Turkey.
On Friday, the autonomous Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria said an overnight Turkish strike hit a rehabilitation centre for girls in a region near the city of Hasakeh.
The Observatory said four children enrolled in the centre were killed and several others wounded.
Ankara considers the main Kurdish component of the SDF to be a “terrorist organisation” with organic links to the Kurdish insurgency inside its own territory.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently renewed threats of a broad operation against the Kurds in northern Syria but has so far not managed to secure a green light from Iran and Russia, two other stakeholders in the region.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
