DAMASCUS: Two rockets fired at a school in the central Syrian province of Hama killed seven children yesterday, state media reported, blaming “terrorists” for the attack.
“Terrorist organisations have fired two rockets at a primary school in the town of Karnaz, killing seven children, wounding others and causing major damage to the school,” said Sana news agency, quoting a police source.
The Syrian regime regards as “terrorists” all of those who have taken up arms against it in the conflict sparked by a bloody crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in 2011.
“All of the martyrs were under 12 years of age,” a source at a hospital where the casualties were taken was quoted as saying.
Karnaz is located 45km northwest of Hama city and is close to the villages of Kfanbuda and Kfarzita “where terrorist organisations abound,” according to Sana.
Assailants attack Egypt naval vessel
CAIRO: Assailants in boats attacked an Egyptian naval vessel in the Mediterranean yesterday, prompting the military to send in air support, state media reported.
The navy boat caught fire during the exchange and three of the assailants’ boats were destroyed, the official Mena news agency reported. It said 20 of the assailants had been arrested while the military conducted search and rescue operations, without elaborating. A military spokesman declined to comment immediately.
The identity of the assailants was not clear. The attack reportedly took place about 70km from Egypt’s shore. The Mediterranean Sea is used by drug traffickers and illegal migrant smugglers who have been intercepted by the Egyptian navy in the past.
The country is also fighting a Islamist militant insurgency that has killed scores of policemen and soldiers since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Mursi last year. The main militant group, Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State organisation in Iraq and Syria.
AFP
