Jihadists kidnap 200 Kurdish civilians in Syria

Rebel fighter peers over sandbags in Damascus Damascus – George Al Shami Al-Qaeda linked jihadist fighters kidnapped around 200 civilians from two Kurdish ?towns in the outskirts of Aleppo in northern Syria on Wednesday, according to the Syrian ?Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).? “Fighters of Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) have seized control of Tel Aren village in Aleppo province and are laying siege to another village nearby, Tall Hassel. They have taken hostage around 200 civilians from the inhabitants of the two villages,” the SOHR said.
The news comes after days of clashes between Kurdish and jihadist fighters in northern Syria.
Clashes continued between regime and opposition forces in 145 areas of the country on Wednesday, while government forces shelled several cities and towns. Ninety-three people were killed and 473 sites were shelled, according to local coordination committees.
In the capital Damascus, mortar shells fell on Faris al-Khouri Street off Abaseen Square, as clashes between governmental forces and opposition fighters ?between Jobar and Abaseen Garage caused some injuries, according to media reports.?
Residents in the area said: “Four shells fell in Faris al-Khouri Street, one at the North Korean ?Embassy, with gunshots sounding nearby, and three others fell on Tuesday in a nearby commercial area.”?
The sources added that Syrian regime snipers were stationed on the roofs of buildings ?in Fares al-Khouri street, as well as in Jobar.
In the district of Qaboun, also in Damascus, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) targeted several tanks, the industrial school ?and governmental forces gathered beyond the municipality with a cannon, hitting several targets.
This area between Qaboun and Jobar in Damascus has also been witnessing violent ?clashes over the last few months, as it is an entry point to the centre of the city.?
In Barzeh in the northern outskirts of the capital, the FSA clashed with regime forces who were attempting to storm the neighbourhood, ?and in the agricultural area Ghouta, also in the outskirts, the FSA targeted governmental forces in the milling area.
Opposition fighters also launched a Shilka anti-aircraft weapon against a MiG aircraft near the mills and managed to take control over ?all the farms in the area of the fifth bridge on the Damascus Airport Road.
Meanwhile in the Damascus suburb of Maleiha, an FSA anti-tank mine killed a number of governmental forces.
In Aleppo, the FSA targeted regime forces in the villages of Nebl and al-?Zahra and launched grenades at governmental forces stationed near the al-Sharia building, while in the Khalidiya district of Aleppo, opposition fighters targeted an air force intelligence base with anti-aircraft missiles, and used mortar shells and rocket launchers against the ?military academy in al-Hamdaniya.
In Deraa in south-west Syria, the FSA attacked governmental forces on the Hawa Road in Nawa, hitting several targets, used heavy machine guns against Shilka vehicles in al-Harrah and seized a transportation battalion in Busra al-Harir.
Five people from the Deraa village of al-Bakkar were tortured to death after being arrested by governmental forces, according to the SOHR.
In Hama, the FSA targeted Hama military airport with Grad rockets, hitting targets inside the airport.
Meanwhile in the northern town of al-Safira, the FSA destroyed four vehicles loaded with ammunition, two cannons and five ?DShK vehicles. The fighters killed 20 government soldiers and captured several others on the Khanasir-Safira road.
In Homs, the FSA targeted the military academy with ‘107’ rockets.
By the end of Wednesday, the Local Coordination Committees in Syria recorded 93 ?deaths, including 13 children, 10 women and 7 who died following torture. Thirty of the casualties were recorded in Damascus and its outskirts, 18 in ?Aleppo, 12 in Homs, 11 in Deraa, eight in Idlib, five in Deir al-Zour, four in Hama, three in Hasakah, one in ?al-Raqqa in northern Syria and one in Latakia.?
The committees reported 473 sites of shelling, and 39 where military air raids were carried out,  the most violent being in ?Jabal al-Zawiya in Idlib. Explosive barrels fell over 13 sites, according to the committee: Raqqa, Heritan and Sheikh Maqsood in ?Aleppo, Deir Senbel, Saraqeb, Bshlamon, Sarja, al-Barrah, Taftanaz, Bensh, Marian Kasanfra in ?Idlib and Al-Ghassaniya in Homs. The group also reported four instances of ground-ground rockets being used, including on the Damascus Airport Road and in Busra al-Harir in Deraa. Artillery shelling was reported at ??151 sites, rocket shelling at 142 sites and mortar shelling at 118 sites.  ?