Originally published on December 17, 2013

Reuters is reporting that barrel bombs were dropped by Syrian government aircraft on a crowded bazaar in the city of Aleppo on Sunday. Unconfirmed reports put the number of casualties at 30 to 50 and say most of the dead and wounded were women and children.

Crude but effective, barrel bombs are generally oil drums or cylinders packed with various explosives, nails and/or shards of metal which are then dropped from a helicopter or aircraft. These bombs are highly inaccurate and are designed to cause widespread destruction.

The attack on Sunday indicates an escalation of the Syrian government's attempts to re-take Aleppo, a city that was once the country's thriving commercial capital but is now divided into pro- and anti-government neighborhoods. Large sections of this ancient city have been reduced to rubble as Syria's civil war now drags on past the two and-a-half year mark.

Reports say the barrel bombs dropped on Sunday caused such massive devastation that a bulldozer had to be called in to clear the streets before survivors could be located. Most of the people killed and/or wounded were women and children shopping on Sunday as well as individuals waiting at a packed bus station.

Reuters received unconfirmed footage of the aftermath of the bombing that shows severe destruction in the affected neighborhood.

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