Airstrike Hits Maternity Hospital in Northern Syria, Killing Two

Airstrike Hit Entrance to Area's Largest Maternity Hospital

According to charity group Save the Children, an airstrike hit one of their maternity hospitals in northern Syria’s Idlib Province, killing two people and wounding several others. The group that runs the hospital, Syria Relief, said the killed were relatives of patients.

The maternity hospital was said to be the largest in the area, and it is now mostly closed, except for the emergency department, as the electric generator has been damaged in the incident, which hit the entrance to the building.

It was unclear at this point who launched the airstrike, though the Idlib Province is dominated by al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front, and is mostly targeted by the Syrian government and Russia. Though the US coalition has been in talks on joint attacks with Russia against Nusra, it’s unclear if they’ve done so yet.

The hospital in question was described as the only maternity hospital in northwestern Idlib, adding to the difficulties of civilians in the war-torn area. It is also uncertain how long the hospital will be out of commission after the incident.

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.