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Activists: Syrian Air Strikes Kill 16 in Kurdish Village


A Syrian Air Force fighter jet is seen near Damascus in this January 26, 2013, file photo (via Shaam News Network).
A Syrian Air Force fighter jet is seen near Damascus in this January 26, 2013, file photo (via Shaam News Network).
Syrian rights activists say government forces have killed 16 people in an air strike on a Kurdish village and destroyed the minaret of a historic mosque that helped to launch Syria's two-year rebel movement.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the government air strike targeted the village of Hadad in the rebel-dominated northeastern province of Hassakeh. It said several women and children were among those killed in Sunday's attack.

Syrian activists also posted a video on YouTube showing the collapse of the minaret of the Omari mosque in the southern city of Daraa, apparently as a result of shelling by government troops.

The activists accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government of a "barbaric" attack on the mosque, which is thought be more than 1,000 years old. It also served as a hub for opposition activists who were among the first to stage peaceful protests against Assad's autocratic rule in Daraa in March 2011.

In other violence, Syrian state news agency SANA said a suicide car bombing wounded three journalists working for state television in Aleppo province.

Opposition activists also posted a video on the Internet that appears to show government jets dropping bombs on the town of Saraqeb in the northwestern province of Idlib on Saturday. Chaotic scenes ensued as residents tried to put out fires and rush victims to a medical center.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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