Teerorist rocket fire kills 17 civilians in Syria’s Aleppo

At least 17 civilians have been killed in rocket attacks by foreign-backed militant groups in Syria’s major northern city of Aleppo.

The casualties occurred on Saturday when the Takfiri terrorist groups fired rockets on government-held neighborhoods in western Aleppo, “including Suleimaniyah and other areas,” said a UK-based monitoring group tied to foreign-backed Syrian opposition elements.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said that 18 others were killed in eastern Aleppo when Syrian forces targeted militant-held positions.

Takfiri terrorist groups, including the ISIL and al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, often use rocket and mortar fire to target populated areas under the control of the Syrian government, prompting harsh criticism by human rights groups for firing indiscriminately on civilians.

Armed battles first broke out across Aleppo in 2012, turning different sections of Syria’s commercial hub into ruins.

Cities and towns across Syria have frequently come under bomb attacks as well as mortar and rocket fire by foreign-sponsored militants since crisis erupted in the country more than four years ago.

Militants walk through the rubble following a bombing attack by their rival ISIL terrorists in Marea, northern Aleppo, April 8, 2015. (© AFP)
On March 29, at least eight civilians were killed and over two dozen others injured in a mortar attack by Takfiri terrorist groups in Aleppo.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence fueled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 215,000 people, according to reports.

With the conflict now in its fifth year, almost half of all Syrians have been forced to flee their homes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

Over 3.8 million Syrians have left their country since the beginning of the crisis. More than 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced, according to UN figures.

New figures indicate that over 76,000 people, including thousands of children, lost their lives across Syria in 2014.