QAMISHLI, Syria — Standing between slabs of marble in the Hasakeh province in northeast Syria, Muhammad Ali Al-Hassan* recalled the moment airstrikes hit the marble factory where he used to work.
“We heard a drone flying above the village, and seconds later the first strike hit in front of the marble factory at the entrance of the village on Nov. 20,” Al-Hassan told Al-Monitor on Thursday. “The second hit behind the village, and a mortar shell fell on empty fields.” Damaged, the factory closed, depriving Al-Hassan of work just days before his wife was due to deliver his third child.
