Bomb dropped on Syrian school playground kills 12 children

BBC reporters witnessed the aftermath of a school bombing in Aleppo. The explosion left dozens of children and adults 

with ‘napalm-like’ burns. WARNING: These images are extremely disturbing and are not suitable for all readers

The bomb targeted a school in Aleppo, Syria. Dozens of children hurried to a nearby hospital, shaking from their injuries.

A team of BBC reporters was filming inside a Syrian hospital when a flood of horrifically burned victims—many of them kids—started pouring in.

The journalists soon realized that they were witnessing the aftermath of a heinous crime—the bombing of a school playground full of young children.

The small hospital didn’t have enough beds or resources for all the victims.
The BBC reporters said that the victims’ bodies were covered with a white substance, which they likened to napalm or thermite.

Eyewitnesses to the attack said they saw a fighter jet pass over the Aleppo school several times, as if searching for a target. The bombers usually aim for crowded public places, like bakeries or markets
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Eyewitnesses to the attack said they saw a fighter jet pass over the Aleppo school several times, as if searching for a target. The bombers usually aim for crowded public places, like bakeries or markets
.
The jets usually target crowded places, like bakeries or marketplaces. This time, the bombers chose to attack a school full of children.

Those who survived the initial attack suffered from burns on more than 50% of their bodies.
Dr. Rola, a British volunteer, described the scene as “absolute chaos and carnage.”

“The worst thing in life is watching someone die right in front of you and you can't do anything,” the school’s headmaster said.
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Ian Pannell and cameraman Darren Conway were taping an episode for the BBC program Panorama when the panicked children and adults began to arrive on the scene. Their clothes had burned away from their bodies and their skin was coated with a white substance, which the BBC reporters said looked like napalm or thermite.

Dr. Rola, a volunteer physician from Britain, described the scene to the reporters while other medical personnel rushed to soothe the crying victims.

“It is just absolute chaos and carnage here. We have had a massive influx of what looks like serious burns,” the doctor said.

This time, the jet zoomed low to drop an incendiary bomb on a school. Footage of the scene shows a building that has been gutted out by the flames. Gravel and loose bricks lie on the floor, next to a colorful swing set.

The school’s headmaster refused to be identified. He said it was one of the most horrific things he had ever seen.

“The worst thing in life is watching someone die right in front of you and you can't do anything,” the headmaster said. “There were dead people, people burning and people running away, but where to? Where would they go? It is not safe anywhere. That is the fate of the Syrian people.”

At least 10 students were killed and many more were injured. Those who survived the initial attack had burns on more than 50% of their bodies, meaning their chances for recovery were slim.

“We feel like some sort of, not even a second class citizen, like we just don't matter,” Dr. Rola said. “Like all of these children, and all of these people who are being killed and massacred, we don't matter.”

“The whole world has failed our nation and it is innocent civilians who are paying the price.”

President Barack Obama announced today that he is considering launching a "limited narrow act" against Syrian President Bashad al-Assad's forces in response to a deadly chemical attack earlier this month.

Secretary of State John Kerry accused the Syrian president of attacking his own people. Kerry claims the blood of 1,429 Syrians--426 of them children--is on Assad's hands.

Source: BBC News