Regime Attacks Kill 71 İn Syria, Activists Say

At least 71 people were killed in air and ground operations across Syria on Tuesday by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists say.



The London-based Syrian Network for Human Rights, which tracks civilian and opposition casualties, said the regime's air and land operations Tuesday killed 26 in the suburbs of capital Damascus, 18 in Deir ez-Zor, 10 in Homs, six in Hama, four each in Daraa and Aleppo, two in Idlib, and one in Hasakah. 



According to the Syrian General Revolutionary Council, army fighter jets bombed Al-Zabadani, a city in southwestern Syria.



The council also said the Islamic State, or IS, conducted artillery attacks on military airports both in Kuveyris and in Deir ez-Zor. 



The IS has declared a "caliphate" that straddles parts of Syria and Iraq, and has driven an estimated 1.2 million Iraqis from their homes. The insurgents have particularly targeted Shiite Muslims, Turkmen, Yazidis and Christians. 



Meanwhile, the Syrian government's official news agency, SANA, claimed that Syrian troops "neutralized" a large number of armed groups across Syria.



Syria has been gripped by civil war since March, 2011. Last month, the Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that more than 133,000 people had been killed in regime attacks. A recent UN report has said more than 191,000 people are believed to have been killed in the country.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Halep