20 killed when Syria bakery shelled

A bakery packed with customers was hit by artillery fire Tuesday, further dimming hopes the fighting in Syria would subside ahead of a religious holiday. At least 20 people were killed and 30 were injured when shells fired by army artillery hit the bakery in the embattled city of Aleppo, anti-government activists who witnessed the strike said. The victims had been shopping at the Al Zura Bakery in Syria's largest city when it was ripped apart by the incoming shells. The New York Times said horrific video of the immediate aftermath of the shelling was posted on the Internet. The Times said the shelling likely snuffed out any hope of a cease-fire in Syria for the four-day Eid al-Adha festival, which begins Friday. Lakhdar Brahimi, the envoy for the Arab League who had been trying to broker a ceasefire for the holiday, told Voice of American the chances of a brief truce were now "slim." Fighting continued largely unabated across Syria Tuesday. The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported 97 deaths across the country, including four women and seven children. Fighting was reported across Syria, with government military planes attacking a neighborhood in Aleppo and reports of rebel deaths in battles elsewhere, the opposition Syrian Network for Human Rights reported. Syrian forces said a rebel coordinating the movement of opposition groups was arrested outside Hama and his "advanced communication device" was seized, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported.