Airstrike on Mosque 'Kills 42' in Rebel-Held Syria Village: Monitor

By Reuters On 3/17/17 at 5:56 AM EDT

Syria mosque airstrike — Syrian civil defense volunteers, known as the White Helmets, dig through the rubble of a mosque following a reported airstrike on a mosque in the village of Al-Jineh in Aleppo province late March 16. The airstrike killed at least 42 people, according to a monitoring group. OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty

Warplanes struck a mosque in the rebel-held village of al-Jina, in northwest Syria, killing at least 42 people and wounding dozens, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said Thursday.

The jets struck the village, southwest of Atarib near Aleppo, as the mosque was full of worshippers at evening prayer, said the Observatory, which monitors the Syrian war via a network of contacts across the country.

The U.S. military said it carried out an airstrike on Thursday against al-Qaeda militants, killing several, at a meeting location in Idlib province, but it was unclear if it was referring to the attack on Al-Jina.

The statement from U.S. Central Command made no mention of civilian casualties.

Syrian and Russian military have also carried out many airstrikes in Idlib and Aleppo provinces during the war.

Al-Jina is located in one of the main rebel-held parts of Syria, the northwest that includes Idlib province and the western parts of Aleppo province, and its population has been swollen by refugees, U.N. agencies have said.

Rebels in northwest Syria fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad also include groups supported by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies.

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