Mortar shells kill 4, injure 20 in Syria’s Aleppo

Foreign-backed militants' rocket attacks have killed at least four people and wounded 20 others in Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo.

The deadly incident occurred in Aleppo's strategic district of al-Midan and Bustan Kell-app area on Saturday, according to the Police Command.

The wounded were taken to hospital, the police added.

On February 20, there was another rocket attack by militants on a busy market in Aleppo, resulting in casualties and damage.

Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, once served as the country’s industrial powerhouse, but has been split between a government-held western part and a militant-held eastern portion since mid-2012.

Syria: Scene of deadly clashes

Saturday's Aleppo incident occurred only hours after at least four people were killed in a blast in the town of Qardahain in the war-torn country’s western province of Latakia.

Syria has been grappling with deadly violence since March 2011. The Western powers and their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey – are reportedly arming and funding militants to fight against the Damascus government.

Reports show that the violence fueled by the militant groups has claimed the lives of an estimated 210,000 people so far.

New figures suggest that over 76,000 people, including thousands of children, lost their lives in Syria last year.

According to the UN, more than 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced and millions more have left the country due to the ongoing crisis.

MIS/NN

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