PHOTO: The Agha Jaq Mosque in Aleppo, hit by a Russian airstrike on Tuesday
Russia’s airstrikes have damaged another mosque in northern Syria, also killing at least 10 worshipers, according to opposition media.
The Aleppo Media Center said the Ottoman-era Agha Jaq Mosque, in the center of Aleppo’s Old City, was struck during afternoon prayers on Tuesday.
One resident told the AMC, “The Ottomans built a mosque for us every 100 meters in this neighborhood, while Bashar al-Assad is destroying a mosque every 100 meters.”
A surgeon’s assistant in Aleppo told Syria Direct, “Every Friday, we are all on standby during the time for Friday prayer when mosques are targeted during the prayer time, whether by Russian planes or surface-to-surface missiles launched by the regime.”
Since the start of its bombing campaign on September 30, Russia has damaged or destroyed schools, bakeries, mosques, aid trucks, markets, and a water treatment plant in opposition-held territory. The airstrikes were stepped up from late November, especially in northwest Syria, following Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane.
The Violations Documentation Center has recorded the deaths of 1,382 civilians from Russian attacks.
In the past five days, 159 civilians have been killed, the highest rate since Russia began bombing.
Aftermath of a Russian airstrike on an elementary school in the al-Zabdiyah area of Aleppo:
#Syria: Aftermath footage of today's #Russia|n airstrike on a elementary school in #Aleppo|s al-Zabdiyah area. pic.twitter.com/xDogfXXE8Z
— Sakir Khader (@sakirkhader) January 13, 2016
See also Syria Feature: Russia’s Aerial Victory — 80% Aid Cut, 260,000 Displaced, Infrastructure Damaged