At least 27 killed as Syrian jet crashes into market

Most of the dead were civilians on the ground in an Idlib province's town, says UK-based Observatory for Human Rights

BEIRUT: At least 27 people were killed when a Syrian army fighter jet crashed into a busy market place in the rebel-held northwestern town of Ariha on Monday, a monitor said.

Most of the dead were civilians on the ground in the town in Idlib province, which fell to a coalition of insurgents in May, according to the UK-based Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks violence across Syria.

Scores were also injured, it said. There was no immediate reaction from the Syrian army.

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In a similar incident on July 21, a missile fired by Syrian forces killed at least 18 civilians in a residential neighbourhood of the old quarter of Aleppo city, a monitoring group said.

“The missile struck when people were still inside their homes in the Maghayir district. It killed 18 civilians, including one child, and wounded dozens of others,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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“There were many people stuck in the rubble, and ambulances were going back and forth transporting people,” Abdel Rahman added.