BEIRUT (AP) — Activists say at least 13 children were killed when mortar rounds slammed into their school in a rebel-held suburb near Damascus.
Amateur video posted online shows the bloodied bodies of at least nine children laid out on the floor of a crowded field hospital awaiting burial.
It’s not clear who fired the mortar rounds. Both forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebels opposed to his rule use the weapons. Activists say they believe pro-Assad forces were responsible — if only because it would be unlikely that rebels would fire at their own people. Government officials had no immediate comment.
Also today, activists say Kurdish forces distributed leaflets to residents in the Kurdish-dominated far north and northeastern regions of Syria, ordering them to report for compulsory military service. Syrian Kurds run their self-declared, largely autonomous area, called Rojava. They have been on the front line of the fight against militants of the Islamic State group.
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