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Shelling Hit School, Killing 6 in Rebel-Held Syrian Village

Associated Press

   BEIRUT - Syrian government forces shelled a rebel-held village in the
   country's northwest on Wednesday, hitting a school and killing at least
   six people, opposition activists said.

   The attack in Idlib province, the last rebel stronghold in Syria, was
   part of an ongoing offensive in which Syrian troops have captured more
   than 40 villages and hamlets over the past two weeks.

   Idlib is dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants and is also home to 3
   million civilians. The United Nations has warned of the growing risk of
   a humanitarian catastrophe in the region, which lies along the Turkish
   border.

   A war-monitoring group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human
   Rights, said a teacher and four students were killed in Sunday's
   government shelling of the village of Sarmin.

   Hadi Abdullah, an Idlib-based opposition activists, gave a slightly
   higher death toll, saying seven people were killed, including a woman
   and four children. Different death tolls are common in the immediate
   aftermath of bombings.

   Syrian troops have been bombarding parts of Idlib since last month,
   with the shelling and airstrikes intensifying since the ground
   offensive began on Dec. 19.

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