At least 5 dead after shells hit Syrian hospital

(21 Mar 2021) Artillery shells fired from government areas hit a hospital in a rebel-controlled town in northwestern Syria on Sunday, killing at least five civilians and wounding medical staff, rescuers and activists reported. The shells landed at the entrance and in the courtyard of the hospital in Atareb, a town in rural western Aleppo, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Footage showed debris and blood stains at the entrance and inside the hospital. The facility is located underground, a tactic used by the opposition to avoid being targeted in the conflict-prone area. The explosion killed at least five civilians, including a child and a woman, and injured medical staff, according to the Syrian Civil Defense volunteers, known as the White Helmets. Head of Atareb Hospital, Omar Halaq, said five medical staff had been injured, and that the hospital had been evacuated and shut down. Attacks on hospitals are common in the Syria conflict, and are mostly blamed on government and allied forces. The health directorate in the rebel-controlled northwest said the attack Sunday was the first on a medical facility in the region since February 2020. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...