DAMASCUS —
A civilian was killed and 12 injured Sunday by a drone attack on a church as it
was being inaugurated in central
Syria, the official SANA news agency reported.
اضافة اعلان
“One civilian was
killed and 12 injured in a drone attack by terrorist organizations on a crowded
gathering in Al-Suqaylabiyah city in the Hama countryside,” the news agency
said.
It said the attack
came during a ceremony to inaugurate the Ayia Sofia church.
SANA initially
said that two people died in an attack by a rocket before correcting its
earlier report.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor which relies on
sources on the ground, confirmed the attack.
It said one person
was killed and six wounded in shelling or a drone attack by rebel groups
deployed nearby.
Sunday’s attack
came two days after bombardment killed seven people, including four children,
in the rebel-held Idlib region.
The Observatory
said Friday’s deaths in the Jisr Al-Shughur countryside of northern Syria were
caused by Russian air strikes.
Around half of
Idlib province as well as parts of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia provinces are
controlled by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the former franchise in Syria of Al-Qaeda.
Other rebel groups
in the last pocket of armed opposition to the Damascus regime also remain
active, with varying degrees of Turkish backing.
In March 2020,
Russia and Turkey brokered a truce in Idlib and neighboring areas that still
holds, despite sporadic attacks from both sides, including Russian air strikes.
Syria’s war began
in 2011 and has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of
the country’s pre-war population from their homes.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News