LATEST: State Media Inadvertently Points to Economic Crisis

Syrian airstrikes killed tens of people, including more than a dozen children, in attacks on schools and mosques from Damascus to the northwest on Tuesday.

The Local Coordination Committees said they had documented 74 deaths on Tuesday. Nineteen of the dead were children.

Seven children were reportedly slain by barrel bombs on a school in Safohan in Idlib Province in northwest Syria.

In Douma, northeast of Damascus, at least five people, including three children, were killed in an attack on another school.

Children and wounded in a makeshift clinic in the aftermath of the Douma attack:

Both areas have been subjected to sustained regime bombardment throughout the 45-month conflict, with an escalation this month. In Idlib Province, the Syrian military is trying to hit back after the loss of territory, including two major military bases, to insurgents. In Douma, the Assad regime is trying to clear opposition forces who have held the area since 2012.

Syria’s warplanes also struck on a third front on Tuesday, with bombing of the Islamic State-held Raqqa in northern Syria. Activists said 26 people died in and near the city, many of them children in schools.

On Monday, an airstrike on a bus in northwest Syria killed at least four children and wounded at least 10.


State Media Inadvertently Points to Economic Crisis

State news agency SANA’s tries to be upbeat about a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, but instead unwittingly points to the economic and social crisis:

The Ministers discussed the state of economy and services, specifically issues related to providing fuel and food and challenges affecting the transport, electricity, and drinking water sectors, with Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi asserting that the government will not allow anyone to destabilize the Syrian Pound exchange rate and national economy.

The Assad regime is struggling to provide basic services, food, and fuel to its supporters — let alone millions of Syrians who are displaced or in conflict zones — with the onset of winter. It is trying to obtain billions in lines of credits and assistance from Iran and Russia, and has depreciated the currency, which has lost about 75% of its official value since the start of the conflict.

Islamic State Claims Downing of Coalition Jet, Capture of Jordanian Pilot

The Islamic State is claiming the downing of a US-led coalition warplane and the capture of a Jordanian pilot/

The jihadists have posted photos of its fighters with the pilot, identified by one journalist as 1st Lieutenant Maaz al-Kasasra.

ISLAMIC STATE JORDAN PILOT

ISLAMIC STATE JORDAN PILOT 2

The downing is the first of a coalition jet by the Islamic State since the US-led aerial intervention began on September 22.