03/12/2012 16:42
There are people with arms and legs missing. Syrian airstrikes
Syrian warplanes bombed a town within sight of the Turkish border Monday, sending panicked civilians running to the fence that separates the two countries, witnesses told CNN.
The attack came as NATO ministers considered whether to send missiles to Turkey should the civil war spill across its border.
The bombing is the latest in a series of airstrikes across Syria launched by President Bashar al-Assad's forces in an attempt to drive back rebel advances in a number of locations, including in and around the capital city of Damascus, according to opposition activists.
Thick, black smoke rose from the border town of Ras An Ail, where witnesses said warplanes dropped two bombs. One appeared to strike at three-story building "that the opposition forces were staying in," said neighborhood mayor Mehmet Saitavci.
It was not immediately known how many people were killed or wounded in the airstrike. But Saitavci said the wounded were making their way to the border where they were then picked up by ambulances.
"There are people with arms and legs missing coming across," he said.
The airstrike on Ras An Ail followed weekend claims by the opposition that Syrian warplanes pounded rebel strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus, where rebels were waging a pitched battle for control of the main road leading to Syria's largest commercial airport.
The airport was shuttered for three days because of fierce fighting. Egypt Air announced it would resume flights Monday after government forces appeared to retake the area, though opposition activists said firefights were still under way.
The airstrikes signal a sharp escalation in the fighting by forces loyal to al-Assad and rebels seeking his ouster, raising concerns among Syria's neighbors that the 21-month-old civil war could spill across the borders.
Neighboring countries have reported deadly border skirmishes with either Syrian forces or rebels.