Daesh chemical attack targets areas around Aleppo: Report

Rasa - The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group has reportedly carried out a chemical attack on two neighborhoods in the countryside of Syria’s embattled northwestern city of Aleppo, leaving at least eight people wounded.

News ID: 423613

Date: 17 September 2016 - 16:46

RNA - Russian broadcaster RT Arabic, formerly known as Rusiya al-Yaum, reported on Friday that Daesh fired mortar shells containing chemicals at the districts of Harbal and Um Hosh, both situated near the town of Afrin in northern Aleppo.

Those infected included five civilians and three others affiliated to tribal forces and the al-Bab Military Council, run by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

An unnamed medical source at Afrin Hospital said the infected were in coma with signs of a chemical attacks noticeable on their body.

A recent US-Russia brokered ceasefire in Syria calls for the delivery and joint Moscow-Washington attacks against militant groups which are not covered by the truce agreement, including Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.

The seven-day cessation of hostilities, which went into effect on Monday at sunset, is the second attempt this year by Russia and the US to bring an end to the Syria crisis that started in March 2011.

Additionally on Friday, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported that a terrorist group attacked several military zones held by the Syrian army in Juber neighborhood, east of Damascus, in breach of the nationwide ceasefire.

The Syrian armed forces managed to thwart the assault, inflicting heavy damage on the terrorists’ equipment, the report added.

Daesh, which is notorious for its barbarity, heinous atrocities and sacrilegious acts, has been accused of committing gross human rights violations and war crimes in the areas it has overrun, particularly in Syria and Iraq. The group has used chemical weapons in both Middle Eastern countries.

A report by the Syrian-American Medical Society published back in March said that Daesh has carried out more than 160 attacks involving “poisonous or asphyxiating agents, such as sarin, chlorine, and mustard gas” since the beginning of the conflict in Syria. Over 1,490 people have been killed in the chemical attacks.

Over the past few months, the Takfiri militants have suffered major setbacks as the Syrian army has managed to liberate several areas.

Aleppo, Syria's second largest city Aleppo, has been divided since 2012 between government forces in the west and foreign-backed militants in the east.

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