PHOTO: Aftermath of Saturday’s airstrikes on Jairoud in Damascus Province
Regime airstrikes have killed more than 40 civilians near Syria’s capital Damascus, in retaliation for the downing of a warplane and execution of its pilot on Friday.
The airstrikes on Saturday targeted a medical center, a school, and a residential area in Jairoud, a densely-populated town including thousands of people displaced by fighting and bombing in nearby areas.
The Local Coordination Committees said 40 victims had been identified by names, while dozens of others have yet to be named because of severe burns or mutilation.
Jairoud, in the eastern Qalamoun region in Damascus Province, had been spared bombardment because of a local truce. However, on Friday a Su-22 jet fighter crashed near the town, with rebels claiming their third downing of a warplane within a week.
The pilot, Major Nawras Hassan, was captured by the jihadists of Jabhat al-Nusra. According to the leading rebel faction Jaish al-Islam, Nusra was supposed to hand over Hassan to them; however, the jihadists quickly carried out the execution.
On Saturday, Jaish al-Islam repeated the demand for the return of the pilot’s body.
After the regime airstrikes, Jairoud’s residents marched in a call for Nusra to leave.
