40 bodies discovered as a new Syria massacre unfolds

At least 40 bodies of men, women and children were discovered on Saturday in the Syrian town of Al-Nabk, a Damascus suburb, in an apparent new massacre, the Syrian Revolutionary Council reported, following a heavy shelling campaign by the regime’s army.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition issued a statement hours earlier calling upon countries of the “free world” to “protect civilians in Syria
and to intervene immediately” after news of the heavy shelling on Nabk surfaced.

Syrian regime fighter jets also pounded a rebel-held city in the country’s northeast, killing at least 12 people including five children, activists said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the air raids hit the northeastern city of Raqqa early afternoon. Four women were among the dead and dozens of people were wounded, the Observatory said.

Rebels captured Raqqa, the capital of the province of the same name, in March. It’s the only major urban center to fall entirely under opposition control since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011.

The Western backed Syrian Free Army (FSA) announced on Saturday that two of its commanders were killed by the Al-Qaeda linked State of Iran and Syria (ISIS).

The two commanders, Mohammad Al-Qadi and Ahmad Jahar, were abducted while leading an aid convoy from Turkey to northern Syria.

They were reportedly seen last at an ISIS camp in the town of Azaz, but a day later their bodies were found by residents in the outskirts of Azaz.

Some residents said they were baffled by the “secret execution” of the two men. One resident said the Al-Qaeda group usually puts individuals on trial and then executes them publicly.

“Secret executions are not part of Al-Qaeda’s style,” one resident said.

AN