Syrian air strikes kill 70 people after rebel rocket attack
Syrian air force strikes killed at least 70 people in an opposition district outside Damascus following rocket attacks by rebels that had hit the government-controlled center of the Syrian capital, a monitoring group said on Friday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors violence in Syria, said the air force conducted 60 strikes on the Eastern Ghouta district on Thursday and during the night. Twelve children and 11 fighters were among the dead, it said.
High death tolls from air force attacks are not rare but the Observatory said the focused barrage was a response to rocket attacks by Islam Army insurgents on Thursday, which killed 10 people in Damascus.
A message on Thursday on a Twitter account thought to belong to Islam Army chief Zahran Alloush said Thursday's rocket attack was a taste of what the Syrian military had done to Eastern Ghouta. Alloush described Damascus as a "military zone" and said his group would respond to any air force strikes.
