Syrian airstrikes in north kill 18

BEIRUT — Opposition activists say Syrian government airstrikes on a vegetable market in a rebel-held town in the northern Aleppo province have killed at least 18 people and wounded scores. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says fighter jets hit the crowded market in the town of Atareb on Thursday morning. The observatory says the death toll is likely to rise because many were seriously wounded. Another activists group, the Syria-based Local Coordination Committees also reported the airstrikes on Atareb, saying that 24 people were killed. The discrepancy in the death toll is not unusual in the immediate aftermath of such large attacks. – AFP