Syrian air offensive leaves 82 dead in Damascus

An offensive of the Syrian Air Force left 82 dead in a district of the opposition in the outskirts of Damascus, in retaliation to rocket attacks by insurgents that hit the center of the capital, said on Friday a monitoring group.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors violence in Syria, said that the Air Force conducted 60 attacks in the district of Ghuta on Thursday and Friday. Eighteen children and 11 fighters were among the dead, it reported.

A message of a Twitter account that is thought belonged to the head of the Army of Islam, Alloush Zahran, said that the rocket attack was a sign of what the Syrian Army had done in Ghuta. Alloush described Damascus as a “military zone” and said that his group would respond to any attack by the Air Force.