Air strikes rock children's hospital in Syria's Aleppo

29 April 2016 10:00 AM IST

The contested city is now one of the main battlegrounds of Syria's devastating civil war.

The Syrian military source said the army has been responding to insurgent attacks in Aleppo, adding: the militants continue using this fire and bombardment of civilians; the army will certainly not be quiet about it.'
The Russian defence ministry, which is also conducting air strikes in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad, could not immediately be reached for comment. Russia has previously denied hitting civilian targets in Syria.
A cessation of hostilities agreement has unravelled and fighting has resumed on numerous fronts in western Syria.
Aleppo has been the epicentre of a military escalation that has helped to undermine UN-led peace talks in recent weeks.
A Syrian military source said government warplanes had not been used in areas where airstrikes were reported.
Bebars Mishal of the Civil Defence in Aleppo told Reuters that 40 people had been killed in a five-storey building next to the hospital.
The head of a rescue service put the death toll at 50, saying most of the dead were in a building next door.
The al-Quds hospital was supported by international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which said it was destroyed after being hit by a direct air strike that killed at least three doctors.
a Civil Defense worker carries a child after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria.

The contested city is now one of the main battlegrounds of Syria's devastating civil war.