Shelling of rebel village in northern Syria kills 4 students

By GHAITH ALSAYED
Associated Press

MAARET AL-NAASAN, Syria (AP) — Syrian opposition activists say government forces shelled a rebel-held village in northwestern Syria, the country’s last major opposition stronghold, killing four students on their way to school. The activists say the shelling Monday targeted a village in Idlib province. They say all four students were younger than 18 years of age. Idlib is Syria’s last major rebel stronghold and home to more than 3 million people, many of them internally displaced by the civil war that began in 2011. The conflict has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.