Syrian War Jets Strike Northern City, Leaving Dozens Dead, Missing
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DAMASCUS, Syria) — At least 40 people were killed Wednesday by Syrian war planes in the town of Azzaz, located near the border with Turkey, while at least another 40 are missing.
The government of President Bashar al-Assad has stepped up its attacks on suspected rebel strongholds in recent weeks, focusing on Syria’s largest city of Aleppo where opposition forces are entrenched in various neighborhoods.
Wednesday’s attack occurred not far from Aleppo. Before the strike on Azzaz, the Syrian military warned the al-Tawheed Brigade, one of the main rebel forces in the region, to pull back from the city or else face shelling.
Witnesses said the bombardment was focused mostly on a food market shopped mainly by civilians. A spokesman for the rebel Syrian National Council claimed that most of the victims were women and children.
He added that with a lack of electricity and proper equipment, rescuers were mainly left to digging through the rubble for possible survivors with shovels and bare hands.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio