Syria: Barrel bombs destroy Aleppo’s largest hospital

By Khaled Suleiman

ALEPPO, Syria (AA) – The largest field hospital in opposition-held Aleppo city was destroyed Saturday by barrel bomb attacks carried out by Syrian regime forces, according to local civil defense sources.

A regime helicopter dropped barrel bombs on the hospital in al-Sakhour district, leaving it along with a number of ambulances totally destroyed, the sources, who spoke anonymously due to security concerns, said.

According to the sources, regime forces targeted aid teams that were helping evacuate the hospital.

Marwan Salim, an Aleppo-based activist, said a number of people were reportedly killed and injured in the attack.

“Russian jets and regime forces are simultaneously bombarding al-Sakhour district,” he told Anadolu Agency.

“Eastern areas in Aleppo city have been under intense attacks for 10 days. Russians attack using cluster bombs while regime uses barrel bombs,” Salim said.

Since Sept. 19, when the Bashar al-Assad regime announced the end of a week-long truce sponsored by Washington and Moscow, Syrian and Russian warplanes have pounded opposition-held parts of Aleppo.

Scores of civilians have reportedly been killed or injured in the attacks, which remain ongoing.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, a Beirut-based NGO, has put the total death toll from the five-year conflict at more than 470,000.