Syria Barrel-Bomb Attacks Kill 85 In Aleppo

At least 85 people, including children, have been killed in barrel-bomb attacks by the Syrian regime, reports say.

Government helicopters dropped a series of barrels packed with explosives in the northern city of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Attacks using the controversial weapon targeted several areas of the city, once Syria’s economic capital, with 34 of the dead in the Tareq al Bab area alone.

“At least 85 people were killed, including 65 civilians, 10 of whom were children,” the Observatory said.

Report said 10 of those killed in Saturday’s raids were jihadists from the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate, Al-Nusra Front, who were in their headquarters when it was hit.

Another 10 bodies could not be identified.

Aleppo city has been divided since rebels launched a huge offensive in mid-2012, and heavy fighting between the two sides has left swathes of the city in ruins.

The aerial assault came the day after peace talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and the opposition ended without achieving concrete results.

Regime forces recently launched an offensive on rebel-held areas in the east of the city.

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