Umayyad mosque burned in Syria's Aleppo
Beirut, Oct 19: Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday ordered immediate repairs to a historic mosque in the city of Aleppo after fierce fighting between rebels and regime forces set parts of the compound on
Videos posted by activists online show a large fire and black smoke raging inside the mosque on Saturday, and later, its blackened, pockmarked walls. Debris is strewn on the floors where worshippers once prayed on green and gold carpeting.
"Assad's thugs set the mosque on fire as a punishment for being defeated by the Free Syrian Army," the caption on the video read, referring to the rebels fighting to topple Assad.