The two children, who were playing on the balcony of their home in the besieged city of Al Fu'ah in northern Syria's Idlib province, were severely wounded by a sniper from the terrorist group Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham, Sputnik Arabia reported. A 6-year-old Syrian named Laith and his 4-year-old brother Mohammed were playing on the balcony when the Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham sniper opened fire on them from his safe haven about 800 meters from the house.

An unnamed local told Sputnik that the terrorist took two shots at the defenseless children and that Laith suffered a penetrating wound in the right side of the skull, while Mohammed was wounded in the neck. "The children have been hospitalized.

Laith remains in critical condition whereas Mohammed's life is no longer in danger.

They must be urgently evacuated from Al Fu'ah for treatment in other hospitals," he said.  He added that upon hearing the shots, Al Fu'ah residents were able to quickly rescue the children from the balcony, taking cover from the sniper. The kids were immediately rushed to a local hospital which desperately needs more doctors, medicines and medical equipment.

Al Fu'ah and the neighboring city of Kafarya remain under siege, surrounded by ex-Al-Nusra Front terrorists. The regular sniper and mortar fire has already claimed the lives of more than 3,000 civilians in Al Fu'ah. Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups, including Daesh (ISIS/ISIL). A Russia-US brokered ceasefire in Syria came into force on February 27. Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front, and Daesh are terrorist groups which have been outlawed in Russia; they are not part of the ceasefire deal; Sputnik reported.

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