The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defence, also known as White Helmets, said five children were among those killed.
According to an opposition war monitor, a paramedic group and an opposition watchdog, at least 14 civilians were killed and many more were injured when a rocket attack struck the town of al-Bab, northern Syria.
The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defence, also known as White Helmets, said five children were among those killed on Friday and that the number of those wounded was 30.
The attack on the town, which was held by Turkey-backed opposition fighters from the northeastern countryside in Aleppo, occurred just days after an air strike killed Syrian troops and U.S-backed Kurdish fighters. Turkey was blamed by the Syrian government for the attack.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Syrian government forces had carried out Friday’s attack and said it was in retaliation for the Turkish raid.
The Observatory stated that at least 14 people were killed in the attack and 38 were wounded.
In Syria, it is not unusual for casualty numbers to differ immediately after an attack.
A videoPhotos shared on social media purportedly showed blood pools on the ground, scattered bread, and overturned vegetable and fruit boxes in the immediate aftermath.
Al Jazeera couldn’t independently verify the video.
Al-Bab activists had planned a protest on Friday, after Friday’s Muslim midday prayers, to protest recent comments made by Turkey calling the opposition and government to reconciliation.
In a statement distributed to the media after Friday’s attack, the activists cancelled the demonstration over fears of further violence.
Since 2016, Turkey has launched three cross-border military operations in Syria and now controls territory in the north.
In recent months Turkey has threatened a new operation against US-backed Kurdish forces, which it labels as “terrorist” groups.
Although fighting has declined over the past few years in northern Syria (home to the last major rebel stronghold), shelling is still common.
The conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011, has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.
President Bashar al-Assad’s forces now control most of Syria with the help of their allies, Russia and Iran.
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