70 killed, hundreds said injured in Syrian strike

At least 70 people have been killed in a string of Syrian government air strikes on a marketplace in Douma, a rebel-held town near Damascus, a monitoring group says.

At least 200 people are injured, with the death toll — mostly of civilians — likely to rise as many of the wounded are in serious condition, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

“The regime carried out four airstrikes against a market in the center of Douma,” says Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman,

“The preliminary information suggests most of the dead are civilians,” he adds.

Abdel Rahman says locals had gathered at the site after the first strike to help evacuate the wounded when more raids struck.

The devastating attack on Douma comes as UN humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien made his first trip to Syria since taking the top aid post in May.

— AFP