Pointing to “atrocious killing” of nearly 150 people in an attack over the weekend on the northern town of Khan Assal by radical militants from al-Nusra Front and Ansar al-Khilafah groups, Moscow urged all responsible sides to end the carnage, RIA Novosti reported late Tuesday citing a Foreign ministry statement posted on its website on Monday.

“The barbarous nature of the crime has come as a shock to all Syrians: It has been condemned not only by the country’s authorities but also by leading opposition groups,” said the statement in part.

The two al-Qaeda-linked, foreign-backed militant groups have claimed responsibility for taking control over the town, near the city of Aleppo, earlier in July in a joint attack that has reportedly killed 100 soldiers, the report says.

Strongest armed groups fighting against the Syrian army are radical and terrorist groups.

Despite enormous reports of violent crimes against civilians and army soldiers, the Syrian opposition which enjoys strong support from Washington and its European allies has not ruled out their participation in the war and is using their force to topple the government.

The Russian foreign ministry further expressed its deep condolences to the entire Syrian nation, strongly condemning the atrocities perpetrated by the foreign-backed “terrorists and their accomplices” on Syrian soil.

On April 9, the leader of al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq network, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared a merger with the terrorist al-Nusra Front in Syria to play an even greater role in the crisis plaguing the Arab state.

A day later, Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, the head of al-Nusra, pledged allegiance to the al-Qaeda chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
According to UN figures, nearly 100,000 people have so far been killed in the foreign-sponsored insurgency in Syrian since it began in March 2011.

The death toll however is expected to be much more.

SHI/SHI