Syrian Airstrikes Kill 34 in Town Taken by al-Qaeda

Civilians Among the Slain in NW Town Strikes

At least 34 people were killed, including both insurgents and civilians, in a series of airstrikes by the Syrian military today against Jisr al-Shughour, a northwestern town captured yesterday by al-Qaeda and its allies.

This is the first time Jisr al-Shughour has fallen to a rebel faction during the four years of civil war in Syria, and reports today were that the Syrian military was still ambushing militants around the outskirts.

Syrian state media had claimed civilians were being killed by al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front inside the town, though the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they believe there were only detentions of pro-government locals so far, and no actual killings.

The town of about 50,000 people in Idlib Province is just the latest gain for Nusra, which is amassing a fairly significant territory of their own along the Syria-Turkey border.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.