Masked attackers kill five Syria rescuers

BEIRUT: Five Syrian rescue workers were killed in an attack by masked assailants Saturday on one of their centres in the northern province of Aleppo, the White Helmets said.

The White Helmets said armed men stormed the Al-Hader centre in a pre-dawn attack and fired on the first responders inside.

Four volunteers were killed on the spot and a fifth died later in hospital, it wrote on Twitter.

Founded in 2013, the White Helmets are a network of first responders who rescue wounded in the aftermath of air strikes, shelling or blasts in rebel-held territory. The Al-Hader centre lies in a part of Aleppo province controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ajihadist organisation whose main component was once Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.

“At around 2am, an armed group stormed the Al-Hader centre, blindfolded the staff members who were on the night shift, and killed five of them,” said Ahmad al-Hamish, who heads the centre.

“Two others were wounded and another two were able to flee. The attackers were masked and escaped after stealing some equipment and generators,” he said.

It was unclear whether the attack was a robbery-gone-wrong or if the centre and its crew had been specifically targeted.

More than 200 White Helmets rescuers have been killed in Syria’s seven-year war, usually in bombing raids or shelling on their centres.

While attacks like the one on Saturday are rare, they have happened before. —AFP