Aleppo, SANA –The number of civilians who were killed in the terrorist rocket attacks which hit neighborhoods in Aleppo city on Saturday rose to 9.
47 other civilians were confirmed injured, including 11 children and 17 women. Some of those are in critical condition.
The number of casualties is likely to rise as debris removal is still unfinished.
Governor of Aleppo Mohammad Marwan Olabi told SANA in a statement that since early in the morning, rescue, civil defense and debris removal teams have been working to clear the areas and streets where the rockets landed.
According to a Police source, who spoke to SANA earlier, 5 civilians were killed by the rockets which hit streets and areas in al-Suleimaniyeh and al-Sayyed Ali neighborhoods, while 3 others were killed in al-Khaldiyeh neighborhood and al-Nill Street.
The source said the rockets were fired by terrorists positioned in the old city of Aleppo.
Dr. Mohammad Hazouri of Aleppo Health Directorate said the bodies of 9 people and 47 injured were admitted to al-Razi and al-Jam’eh hospitals.
Three of the injured, he noted, were admitted to an intensive care unit, while 20 others have undergone surgeries.
SANA reporter in the northern Aleppo province said the rocket attacks caused massive damage to buildings, as 5 buildings were demolished in al-Suleimaniyeh and 4 others were partly destroyed in al-Sayyed Ali neighborhood.
Cars and shops also sustained severe damage in the attacks, which also caused fire to erupt at several sites.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi condemned the terrorist attacks against the innocent civilians in Aleppo city on Saturday.
Al-Halaqi said in a statement that the terrorist organizations’ escalation aims at undermining the resilience of the city’s people.
“The Syrian people will always have the upper hand, and Aleppo city will remain firm and rout terrorism,” the Premier said.
For his part, Grand Mufti Ahmad Badr-Eddin Hassoun said Aleppo will provide “the perfect example of victory and unity among, Muslims and Christians, Arabs and Kurds, Assyrians, Syriacs and Chaldeans.”
Speaking in a phone call with the Syrian Satellite TV, Hassoun called on all people of Aleppo to adhere to their unity and continue to stand their ground to better defend their homeland and city in the face of terrorism.
He condemned Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the terrorists’ sponsors, as “the enemies of humanity and God.”
This condemnation was echoed by Spiritual Leader of the Arabic Evangelical Church in Aleppo Ibrahim Nasir when he called for holding those countries to account.
Nasir said the new terrorist attacks against Aleppo city are a continuation of the crimes which were carried out by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s forefathers a hundred year ago against the Armenians.
On March 23rd, terrorists targeted al-Jamiliyeh neighborhood and Baron Street with rocket shells, killing 12 civilians, most of them children, injuring 30 others and causing material damage to the public and private properties.
