By Kaitie Christenberry | Echo
More than 60 people died in less than 24 hours in a wave of airstrikes Wednesday night across Aleppo, Syria. The attackers targeted a group of buildings, which included a hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC). The attack killed six Doctors Without Borders staff, totalling 27 murdered in that explosion. Among those who died were one of the last pediatricians in the area and a dentist. No one has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack.
Syria's Civil Defense rescue service, also known as the White Helmets, said that a "hospital and adjacent buildings were struck in four consecutive airstrikes," according to Global News. They also reported that among the victims in that area, three were children, although it is unclear whether they were patients at the hospital.
The hospital housed an intensive care unit, an obstetric unit, operating room, an outpatient and inpatient treatment center and an emergency room. The building was also a referral center for pediatrics.
With tumultuous relations between Syria and Russia, it was believed that Russia was behind the strikes, though Russian Maj. General Igor Konashenkov denied the claim by Syrian opposition. Konashenkov stated that no Russian aircrafts had flown in that region for several days. Others believe that the Assad regime was behind the airstrike, as this is consistent with their previous targeted attacks on hospitals.
The White Helmet's volunteers worked Thursday evening to extract bodies from the debris after another strike killed 20 more people.
Marianne Gasser, head of the Syrian ICRC mission, pleaded, "spare the civilians."
