Syria civilian carnage
Gov't & 'Russian' airstrikes target women's prison
Warplanes struck rebel-held parts of Syria on Saturday, hitting a women’s prison and a clinic, killing and wounding scores of people, amid clashes on multiple fronts between government forces and insurgent groups in some of the worst violence the country has witnessed in weeks, opposition activists said.
The airstrikes, which some said included Russian air raids, concentrated on the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib, the central province of Hama and suburbs of the capital Damascus that have come under attack by insurgent groups over the past week.
One of the airstrikes hit a main street in the Damascus suburb of Hamouriyeh, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 50, activists said. The airstrikes caused wide destruction in the area.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes killed 16, including eight women and children, and wounded more than 50. The Local Coordination said 18 were killed and dozens were wounded.
Both groups said some people are still missing and that the death toll could rise.
“They have been hitting Hamouriyeh for days, but today they struck an area packed with civilians,” said Awis alShami of The Civil Defense search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets.
The airstrikes come as insurgent groups have been on the offensive. Government forces and their allies launched a counteroffensive, capturing some of the areas they lost in Damascus and Hama.
Airstrikes in Idlib province hit several towns and villages as well as the provincial capital of the same name.
The Observatory said a Friday night attack struck a prison run by militants, killing at least 16 people including prisoners and prison staff in Idlib city. It added that women were among the dead as well.
The monitoring group, which has a network of activists around the country, said some people were killed by gunfire as prison guards chased detainees who tried to flee after the attack.
Idlib is a stronghold of Syrian insurgent groups and is regularly targeted by Syrian and Russian warplanes.
On Wednesday, insurgents advanced to within a few kilometers of the governmentheld city of Hama in their new offensive spearheaded by an al Qaeda-linked group.