Syrian war: Barrel bombs kill 15 in Aleppo, reports say

Image copyright AFP

Image caption Use of barrel bombs, which cause indiscriminate damage, has been a feature of Syria"s conflict

Fifteen people have been killed in a barrel bomb attack on a rebel-held area in the Syrian city of Aleppo, a monitoring group says.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bomb struck a group gathered to mourn people killed in a bombing earlier this week.

It comes amid a continuing diplomatic push on brokering a fresh ceasefire.

In northern Syria, Turkish war planes are reported to have carried out strikes on Kurdish-allied forces.

Turkey sent tanks across the border earlier this week to help Syrian rebels capture the town of Jarablus from so-called Islamic State (IS), in a move that was also an attempt to halt Kurdish advances.

The Jarablus Military Council, which is backed by the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces, said Turkish airstrikes hit several of its positions near Jarablus on Saturday.

It called the raids "a dangerous escalation", and said there had been injuries.

Turkey fears Kurdish forces gaining an unbroken strip of territory along its border, which would be a huge boost to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a Turkish Kurdish rebel group fighting for autonomy since the 1980s.

Barrel bombs

Witnesses said one barrel bomb in Aleppo attracted crowds and ambulances to the spot, who were then struck by a second.

It comes days after another 15 people, mostly children, were killed in another reported barrel bombing in a rebel-held part of Aleppo.

Meanwhile more residents have left the Damascus suburb of Darayya after a deal ended a long government siege.

Hundreds of opposition fighters and their families are reported to have arrived in rebel-held areas of the north as part of the agreement.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Evacuations from besieged Darayya have continued

On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov "have achieved clarity on the path forward" on ceasefire discussions, but there were "narrow issues" still to resolve.

The two held talks in Geneva to try to find a way of reviving a cessation of hostilities that faltered months ago.

Mr Lavrov said the pair had "lowered the level of mutual mistrust". Russia and the US have largely backed opposing sides in Syria"s civil war.

Discussions between officials from both parties are continuing.

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Syrian war: Barrel bombs kill 15 in Aleppo, reports say
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