At Least 18 Dead in Attack on Syrian Hospital

A hospital in the northern Syrian city of Afrin, as well as a residential neighborhood, came under artillery fire, which the Turkish government blamed on the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. The death toll in the Saturday attacks on Al-Shifa hospital and a neighborhood in the Turkish-backed-rebel-held area has risen to at least 18, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Among the dead are a doctor, three hospital staff, three women and a child, according to the war monitor.

The artillery fire came from northern Aleppo province where Syrian regime and Kurdish forces are both deployed, according to the observatory. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) issued a statement denying any involvement in the shelling, according to reports.