Seven or eight civilians, including four children and between one and three women, were reportedly killed and more than twenty civilians, including women and children, were wounded in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on a popular market in the city of Saraqib on December 21st, 2019, according to local sources.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that three out of the eight killed civilians were women while Enab Baladi put the number at two children, a woman, and five men killed. Wasim Alkhalaf identified 10 children as being injured.
A tweet from @Ala_hacioglu also pointed to civilian homes that were damaged in addition to the market, with @NEDAAPOST classifying it as “massive property damage”.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights wrote that Mrs. Abir Al Daher, a biotechnology engineer who served civilians, was killed while at work in a laboratory in the city.
Orient News quoted Dr. Hassan Kaddour who knew Mrs. Abir: “The blood of patients was mixed with the blood of the martyr engineer Abeer Al-Daher, the biotechnology engineer who works in my laboratory, who was martyred today because of the criminal bombing of the Assad and Putin gangs that the informant was exposed to today. Her name is Abeer, and she is a rose that smells of him. The fragrance, religion, morals, science and kindness. She is eager to work and provide service to her community and her people. This morning, I was expecting that she would not come to the informant because of the security situation, and when I entered the informant, I told her: I was expecting what you would come today. She answered me with a smile: No doctor, and directly, I drew blood for a patient .. I ask God to accept her as a martyr and dwell in his vast gardens. Except for what pleases our Lord, God is sufficient for us and He is the best agent.. I ask God to heal the lab, Nour, who was injured at the same time.. He is capable of everything.”
A tweet from @Ahmad_1alshble listed the name of four other victims killed in the strikes: Muhammad Louay Daaboul, Seif Al-Hawash, Rayan Al-Qasim, Khidr from “Ma`art alya”. A Facebook post from Abu Bassel added the names Farhan Hawash Al-Farhan and Renad Louay Amara and another young man from Beit Brik killed. The post also included the names of those injured: Manahel brik (fragments from the hand and head), Hani Brik (shards in the head), Naglaa Yassin (foot bruised), Randa Al-Qasim (fracture by hand + fracture by foot), Hassan Amara (fracture in the foot), Darren Amara (broken by hand), Omar Kafrtouni (bruised), Nahid al-Qasim (splinters in the head), Yasser Al-Qasim (splinters in the head), Esraa al-Qasim (minor bruising), Alaa….. (shards with feet), Muhammad Hammoud (splinters in the foot), Samah Kafrtouni (a shrapnel in the foot), Ahmed El Karmo (hand + foot injury), Hani Brik, Muhannad Al Sufi.
@almohamadi84 also identified that two children of his uncle, 20 and 18 year olds who had a shop for birds, were killed but did not give their names.
@SyriaCivilDefe reported that Ahmed Alwani, a volunteer in the Civil Defense, was injured while he was at the site of the raid helping people.
Syrian Civil Defence spokesperson Hassan Abu Al Fadi told SMART News Agency that “the regime’s warplanes launched a raid with three missiles, one of which was on the main market of the city, killing eight civilians, including four children and a woman, and wounding 25 others, including children, women and a member of the Civil Defense”. Step News Agency stated that Russian forces were responsible for the incident. A tweet from @Blackpearls6464 identified four raids as being carried out in Saraqib.
The incident occured in the morning.
