At Least 6 Die when School Bus Plunges into River in Northwest Syria

The Orontes River. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Orontes River. Asharq Al-Awsat
TT

At Least 6 Die when School Bus Plunges into River in Northwest Syria

The Orontes River. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Orontes River. Asharq Al-Awsat

At least six people, most of them children, drowned when a school bus went off the road into a river in northwest Syria on Thursday, emergency responders said.
The bus carrying dozens of children left the road near the city of Darkush, west of Idlib, and plunged into the Orontes River, a local civil defense organization also known as the White Helmets said in a statement.
Rescue teams were searching for survivors in the cliffside and in the river, it said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the bus to go off the road. Images from the scene showed a steep crag overlooking the riverbed where searchers were scrambling over boulders.
It was the latest tragedy to affect an area that has already been hit hard by Syria’s ongoing civil war and by a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Türkiye and northern Syria last year.



Lebanon's Hezbollah Confirms Leader Nasrallah Killed

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo
TT

Lebanon's Hezbollah Confirms Leader Nasrallah Killed

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban/File Photo

Lebanon's Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed and vowed to continue the battle against Israel.

A statement Saturday said Nasrallah “has joined his fellow martyrs.”
The statement says Hezbollah vows to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine.”
Nasrallah led the Lebanese group for more than three decades. His death could dramatically reshape conflicts across the Middle East.
Earlier, Israel said Saturday that it killed Nasrallah, dealing its most significant blow to the Lebanese group after months of fighting.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and 91 injured in the Beirut strikes Friday, which leveled six apartment buildings. Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders were also killed in the attack, the Israeli military said.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesperson, said the airstrike was based on years of tracking Nasrallah along with “real time information” that made it viable. He said Nasrallah’s death had been confirmed through various types of intelligence, but declined to elaborate.
It was not immediately clear what effect the strike would have on Hezbollah or fighting between the sides that has dragged on for nearly a year. Israel has vowed to step up pressure on Hezbollah until it halts its attacks that have displaced tens of thousands of Israelis from communities near the Lebanese border. The recent fighting has also displaced more than 200,000 Lebanese in the past week, according to the United Nations.