Syrian Boy Rescued After An Airstrike On Aleppo

This picture of a Syrian Boy is reminiscent of the image of Aylan Kurdi, the little Syrian boy found dead on a Turkish beach and whose fate came to symbolise the desperation of the country's refugees.

The Syrian boy rescued after an airstrike on Aleppo has become a symbol of the desperate situation in the city.

The boy was identified by doctors as Omran Daqneesh, a five-year-old brought to hospital with head wounds after Wednesday night's attack on the rebel-held district of Qaterji.

A video posted by the Aleppo Media Centre shows a man rescuing Omran and carrying him, dazed and bleeding, to a waiting ambulance.

Sitting on the orange chair in the back of the vehicle, Omran is seen running his hand over his face, looking at the blood on his hands and wiping it on the chair.

Two other children are also rescued and brought to the ambulance.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three people died in the airstrike, which opposition monitoring group The Local Co-ordination Committees blamed on Russian warplanes.

Doctors say Omran was treated and later sent home.

More than 290,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in Syria's civil war, which began in 2011.

Since 2012, Aleppo has been torn between rebel control in the east and government forces in the city's west.

In mid-July, government forces regained control of the last supply road into rebel-held areas. 

After three weeks of fierce fighting, rebels took the southern neighbourhood of Ramussa, cutting off government forces and opening up a new route for rebel fighters.