Survivors inspect the ruined al-Qaterji district of Aleppo yesterday after a bombardment of rebel areas by Russian aircraft which was condemned as “barbarism” Abdalrhman Ismail /ReutersPresident Assad is preparing a final ground offensive to capture Aleppo after waves of Syrian and Russian warplanes dropped napalm, phosphorus and bunker-buster bombs on the besieged city. World leaders condemned Russian tactics as barbarism but the airstrikes continued yesterday with wave after wave of cluster bombs. Residents said the bunker-busters, which penetrate the ground before exploding, left craters five metres deep and had shaken the ground with the force of a small earthquake. Rebel fighters also said they had been hit by controversial thermobaric weapons such as the TOS-1A — a type of giant flame thrower that was used to…

Source: The Times September 25, 2016 23:07 UTC