Al-Qaeda-linked militants have fired hundreds of rockets and mortar shells into two besieged Shia villages in northwestern Syria.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least seven people were killed and hundreds more wounded in the shelling of Fuaa and Kafraya village in Idlib province. The villages are currently under the control of the Syrian government. It isn't clear if the victims were civilians or government forces. Militant groups including al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front are battling for government-held regions in Idlib. Syria blames Turkey, the United States and its allies for years of unrest across the country.