Syrian jets blast rebel-held town

Syrian fighter jets blasted the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan on Thursday, killing at least 49 people including 23 children, rescuers said.

U.N. peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi pressed for a truce during a key Muslim holiday later this month, while the U.N.’s human rights chief appealed to the Security Council for unity over the crisis.

Rescuers said bombs destroyed two residential buildings and a mosque, where many women and children had been taking refuge, in the strategic northwestern town. Among those killed was a 9-month-old baby.

Rebels captured the town on Oct. 9 in a push to create a buffer zone along the Turkish border. “We have recovered 44 corpses from under the rubble,” one worker told an AFP correspondent at the scene.

In a makeshift field hospital, the correspondent saw at least 32 bodies wrapped in white sheets, including six children and many mutilated corpses, as well as plastic bags marked “body parts.”

One child was decapitated, the correspondent said. The body of a second was pulled from the rubble still on his bicycle.

“At the moment it seems only three people survived the attack, including a 2-year-old child,” said medic Jaffar Sharhoub. “He survived in the arms of his dead father.”

A resident who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said several of those killed had just returned to their homes. “They thought the danger had passed,” the resident said.

Several fighter jets flew over Maaret al-Numan and the surrounding area throughout Thursday morning. They made short dives to drop at least 10 bombs on the town and its eastern outskirts, near the besieged Wadi Deif army base, which came under heavy bombardment by the rebels. (AFP)