AhlulBayt News Agency - Dozens of people have been killed and injured in a rocket attack on a hospital in the contested Syrian city of Aleppo, state media reported.
The hospital, which was under the control of government forces, was targeted by a radical rebel group, Syrian state TV reported. The facility is said to be ruined after the attack.
"(Dozens) martyred and wounded in rockets fired by terrorists at al-Dabit Hospital," a news flash carried on state TV said, as cited by Reuters.
Figures given for the number of casualties have varied. State-run Iikhbariya TV said three women were killed and 17 people injured.
RIA Novosti cited a source in the pro-government militia based in Aleppo as reporting over a dozen people killed.
A similar figure was cited by the Sana news agency, which reported 11 fatalities.
Last week, another hospital in Aleppo was targeted by an airstrike, which was blamed on the government forces. The Syrian government denied the accusation, however.
The Syrian army said it was responding to the attack with “appropriate measures.”
Aleppo, one of Syria’s largest cities, remains a hotspot, with different parts of the city held by various groups. The Islamist Al Nusra Front, which does not observe the US and Russia-negotiated ceasefire, is accused of staging attacks on both government forces and rebel groups to derail the truce.
Insurgents detonate tunnel bomb before launching offensive in Aleppo
On Tuesday afternoon, the rebels of Jabhat Al-Nusra (Syrian Al-Qaeda group), the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Jaysh Al-Mujahiddeen, and Harakat Nouriddeen Al-Zinki launched a new offensive that targeted the Syrian government controlled Al-Zahra Association Quarter in west Aleppo.
The rebels began the assault by detonating a large tunnel bomb underneath the dilapidated Air Force Intelligence building in the Al-Zahra Quarter; this explosion could be heard as far east as the Old Aleppo District.
Following the massive explosion, the rebels stormed the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) defenses in the Al-Zahra Quarter, resulting in a fierce battle that is still ongoing between the two opposing parties.
The rebels have targeted this area on a number of occasions in the past; however, they have never been able to capture the Air Force Intelligence building, despite predominately destroying its entire infrastructure.
/129
