WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Sunday strongly condemned the "barbaric" attacks against innocent civilians, including women and children, in northern Syria.
"We remain firmly committed to defeating terrorists, including ISIS (IS) and al-Qaeda, as our top priority in Syria," Mark Toner, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said in a statement.
The death toll of the bombing that rocked the convoy of Shiite evacuees in northern Syria rose to 126, including 80 children and women, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group reported on Sunday.
"We deplore any act that sustains and empowers extremists on all sides including today's attacks, as well as forced migration, increased displacement, and all forms of violence directed against civilians in Syria," Toner said.
The blast, carried out by a suicide bomber driving a booby-trapped potato truck, rocked the rebel-held Rashideen area in the countryside of Aleppo province, where buses carrying 5,000 pro-government Shiite people were waiting the reactivation of a deal designed to secure their transportation to government-controlled area in Aleppo.
