Airstrike Hits Busy Market in Opposition-held Northwestern Syria and Kills at Least 9 People

US soldiers patrol the countryside of Rumaylan (Rmeilan) in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)
US soldiers patrol the countryside of Rumaylan (Rmeilan) in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)
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Airstrike Hits Busy Market in Opposition-held Northwestern Syria and Kills at Least 9 People

US soldiers patrol the countryside of Rumaylan (Rmeilan) in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)
US soldiers patrol the countryside of Rumaylan (Rmeilan) in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)

An airstrike early Sunday over a busy vegetable market in northwestern Syria killed at least nine people, activists and local first responders said.

Activists and Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Russia, a top ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, launched the strike over the strategic opposition-held town of Jisr al-Shughur near the Turkish border.

The strike comes a day after Moscow’s top mercenary group briefly revolted against Russian President Vladimir Putin, said The Associated Press.

Opposition-held northwestern Syria's civil defense organization known as the White Helmets said over 30 people were wounded, and expected the death toll to increase.

“We're hearing that the critically wounded have been dying after reaching the hospital,” Ahmad Yaziji of the White Helmets told The Associated Press. “It was a targeted attack in the main vegetable market where farmers from around northern Syria gather.”

Farmers rushed the wounded to the hospital in bloodied vegetable trucks, while activists shared urgent calls for blood donations.

Neither Syria nor Russia commented on the airstrike, though Damascus says strikes in the northwest province target armed insurgent groups.

Northwestern Syria is mostly held by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, as well as Turkish-backed forces.



Moroccan King Calls for Eid Animal Sacrifice Restraint 

Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq makes the announcement on national television. (MAP)
Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq makes the announcement on national television. (MAP)
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Moroccan King Calls for Eid Animal Sacrifice Restraint 

Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq makes the announcement on national television. (MAP)
Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq makes the announcement on national television. (MAP)

The king of Morocco has called on people to refrain from sacrificing sheep during a religious festival later this year because of a drought that has decimated livestock populations and driven up the price of meat.

Millions of sheep, goats and other livestock are sacrificed across the Muslim world every year during Eid al-Adha, one of two key Islamic holidays and due this year in June.

But Morocco is enduring a seventh consecutive year of drought, which has led to a 38 percent fall in livestock numbers in 12 months.

Rainfall has been 53 percent lower than the average of the last 30 years, according to the agriculture ministry.

"Our country is facing climatic and economic challenges that have resulted in a substantial decline in livestock," King Mohammed VI said in a speech read by Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq on national television Wednesday.

While acknowledging the importance of the Eid festival, the king called on his people "to refrain from performing the rite of sacrifice".

Mohammed VI's father, Hassan II, made a similar call in 1966 when the country also endured a prolonged drought.