PHOTO: Damage inside a mosque in Khan al-Shih, southwest of Damascus, hit by Russian-regime bombing on Saturday — the area has been under assault for more than six weeks
LATEST
- Russian Jet Fighters Crashes Off Syrian Coast
- Video: Russia “Bunker-Busts” Aleppo Underground Hospital — “Will They Try to Finish Us Off?”
- Rebel Commander: Why Our Aleppo Offensive Failed
The deaths of another 67 people across Syria were documented on Sunday.
The Local Coordination Committees said that 11 children and five women were among the victims. Thirty-four of the dead were in Aleppo Province, and another 11 in neighboring Idlib Province in northwest Syria. Seven each were slain in Hama Province and in the Damascus suburbs.
Most of the casualties were from Russian-regime bombing, which has continued despite a pause over besieged, opposition-held eastern Aleppo city. The Idlib deaths were largely from strikes on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which has been targeted for days by the Russian and Syrian air forces.
The UN and other organizations stopped counting the dead in 2013. Howver, the Violations Documentation Center has established the details of more than 101,000 civilians killed in the 68-month Syrian conflict.
Drone footage of destruction in the opposition-held al-Shaar area of Aleppo city:
this is #Aleppo, seen by a drone… and Assad's final offensive has yet to begin pic.twitter.com/Dz9Ucs1JRj
— francesca borri (@francescaborri) November 14, 2016
Russian Jet Fighters Crashes Off Syrian Coast
A Russian fighter jet has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Syria, shortly into a training flight, according to the Defense Ministry:
As a result of a technical malfunction during a training flight an incident occurred to a carrier-based MiG-29. The pilot catapulted was delivered to the air carrier Admiral Kuznetsov by a rescue crew. The pilot was not hurt, and is ready for future missions.
Russia’s flagship aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, and other ships deployed off the coast last week. Aircraft began contact flights with Russia’s airbase in western Syria.
Moscow has threatened airstrikes on Aleppo city from the carrier group.
Video: Russia “Bunker-Busts” Aleppo Underground Hospital — “Will They Try to Finish Us Off?”
Dr Shajul Islam describes the damage to an underground hospital in Aleppo Province from Russian airstrikes, including bunker-busting bombs:
This is more damage that our hospital complex took, our drugs storage warehouse is destroyed along with our emergency vehicles #Syria pic.twitter.com/ByTYFbpYAy
— Dr Shajul Islam (@DrShajulIslam) November 13, 2016
Late Sunday he added:
Tonight I feel fear on hearing the jets above me. Will they hit us again to Finish the hospital off? In Allah I put my trust and go to sleep
— Dr Shajul Islam (@DrShajulIslam) November 13, 2016
Rebel Commander: Why Our Aleppo Offensive Failed
A rebel commander has spoken with the pro-opposition site Eldorar about the reasons for the recent failure of an offensive west of Aleppo.
Rebels made initial advances at the end of October, taking the Dahiyat al-Assad suburb and almost all of the 1070 Housing Complex. However, pro-Assad forces have regained all the territory in the past week.
The commander from the Fatah Halab operations room cites three causes of the setback: 1) rebel tactics which were too easily discerned by pro-Assad forces; 2) the bombing of the Russian Air Force; and 3) in-fighting at a key point between leading rebel factions.