DAMASCUS: Syrian rebels fired mortar rounds into government-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo during rush hour on Monday, killing 13 people and wounding dozens, state-run TV and an activist group said.

The violence was the latest in the flare-up in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and once its commercial hub. Last month, Syrian troops and pro-government militias launched an offensive in an attempt to besiege rebel-held parts of the city and since then, intense fighting has been taking place on the city’s outskirts.

On Monday, state TV aired footage from Aleppo showing the wounded and the dead as they were being brought to a hospital in the city. It said the shelling killed 13 and wounded as many as 30, some of whom suffered serious injuries.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that has a network on the ground, gave a similar casualty toll.

It is not uncommon for rebels to shell government-held parts of Aleppo but Monday’s shelling was one of the deadliest in months. State television said the shells struck Baron Street, falling near a school as students were leaving after class.

Published in Dawn March 24th , 2015

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