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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Ahrar al-Sham and Fateh al-Sham attack Kurd area in Aleppo |
| 2016-12-04 |
| [ARA News] Aleppo – Syrian Islamist groups on Saturday bombed the Kurdish district of Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo city with mortar fire, local sources reported. Militants from the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham have reportedly hit the Kurdish-populated district with dozens of mortar shells and locally-made ‘hell missiles’. Jabhat Fateh al-Sham is an offshoot of al-Qaeda. “Islamist groups of Ahrar al-Sham and Fateh al-Sham launched the attack from their bases in al-Shaar neighborhood in eastern Aleppo,” human rights activist Mehvan Mirkhan told ARA News in Aleppo. “They hit Sheikh Maqsoud with dozens of mortars and ‘hell missiles’.” Saturday’s bombardment targeted residential buildings and a security centre for the Kurdish People’s Proection Units (YPG) in Sheikh Maqsoud. At least five civilians and two YPG members were reported dead in the attack. Also, over ten others were injured and immediately transferred to a local makeshift hospital in the district. “Some of the injured are in critical condition,” Doctor Mihemed Hamke, the director of a hospital in Sheikh Maqsoud District, told ARA News. Dr Hamke added that local rescue teams continued to search for victims under the rubble. Sheikh Maqsoud has been under a partial siege by Syrian Islamists for over three years. Violence has recently intensified in the district as the YPG have tried to establish a buffer zone. “Armed groups surrounding the Sheikh Maqsoud District of Aleppo city have repeatedly carried out indiscriminate attacks that have struck civilian homes, streets, markets and mosques,” Amnesty International said in an earlier report about developments in the Kurdish district. Amnesty International added the militants surrounding Sheikh Maqsoud have been “killing and injuring civilians and displaying a shameful disregard for human life.” More reportage at the link |
| Posted by:badanov |