Rebel fire on Syria’s Aleppo kills 7 children.

The news agency reported additional rebel fire on other parts of west Aleppo, which is regularly targeted by the opposition forces that hold the eastern part of the divided city.

 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, gave a toll of eight children killed, aged between six and 12.

 

An AFP photographer at the school shortly after the attack saw adults rushing children away from the building and trying to comfort crying infants.

 

State television showed some of the wounded being treated in a hospital, including a child in a blue top whose face was covered in blood being attended on a stretcher.

 

In a corridor, a young boy in a red T-shirt with his arm in a make-shift sling was shepherded by his distraught mother, as another boy with his head bandaged was carried in.

 

Government forces are currently waging a ferocious assault against east Aleppo, targeting it with air strikes, barrel bombs and artillery fire.

 

They renewed their fire on the east on Tuesday, after a period of relative respite, in a bid to recapture the rebel-held side of the city.

 

The Observatory says at least 103 civilians have been killed in east Aleppo since government forces resumed the assault.

Syrian rebel blows himself up by taking a selfie with a phone rigged to a bomb

This video appears to show the moment a Syrian rebel blows himself and his fellow freedom fighters up by taking a selfie with a phone connected to a bomb.

The footage, which has not been verified, shows members of the Free Syrian Army gathering around a camera.

The eight men are seen sitting in front of a rebel flag as they sing into a microphone, with two rifles propped up in front of them.

This video appears to show the moment a Syrian rebel (left, holding phone) blows himself and his fellow freedom fighters up by taking a selfie with a phone connected to a bomb

This video appears to show the moment a Syrian rebel (left, holding phone) blows himself and his fellow freedom fighters up by taking a selfie with a phone connected to a bomb

The 30-second clip shows one of the men picking up a phone and holding it  up to take a picture of him and the other rebels.

A clicking noise can be heard moments before a sudden blast rocks the room, with flames and smoke obscuring the camera’s view.

When the dust clears, the camera has been blown backwards onto the floor and is pointing towards a ceiling fan.

The rebels can be heard shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ – meaning ‘God is great’ – as they jump over the camera to help their comrades.

A clicking noise can be heard moments before a sudden blast rocks the room, with flames and smoke obscuring the camera's view

A clicking noise can be heard moments before a sudden blast rocks the room, with flames and smoke obscuring the camera’s view

When the dust clears, the camera has been blown backwards onto the floor and is pointing towards a ceiling fan

When the dust clears, the camera has been blown backwards onto the floor and is pointing towards a ceiling fan

The fact that the camera was not destroyed and that the other men in the room appear uninjured suggest the bomb may have been smaller than others seen used by rebels and ISIS in Syria.

It is not known if anyone was injured or killed in the blast.

The Free Syrian Army is allied with the coalition of western nations – including the US, UK and France – in the fight against ISIS.

The rebel group is also fighting against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following the uprising in the nation in 2011, which has led to vast bloodshed and a refugee crisis.

Rebels Seize Priest & 20 Christians in Syria

Jihadists in Syria have seized a priest and 20 other Christians in the latest abduction by militants in the war-torn country, the Franciscan Order said on Tuesday.

A statement from the order’s Custody of the Holy Land in Jerusalem said that parish priest Father Hanna Jallouf was seized on Sunday night in the village of Qunyeh, northwestern Syria.

It said that his abductors were “linked” to Al-Qaeda affiliate the Al-Nusra Front, and added that following the incident an unspecified number of Franciscan nuns took refuge with the villagers.

Senior Franciscan official Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land, said the 62-year-old priest was seized along with 20 villagers.

“He has been kidnapped,” he told AFP in Jerusalem, expressing deep concern over the fate of the priest, a Syrian who has worked in Qunyeh for 12 years after a posting in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

“They are accusing them of being collaborators” with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Pizzaballa said, insisting that this was not true.

“We don’t know what to do. We don’t know with whom to talk, we’re totally unable to get in touch with anyone,” added Pizzaballa, the guardian of the Catholic Church’s sites in the Holy Land.