Historic Aleppo marketplace hit by blaze

Fires sparked by clashes between government troops and rebels raged through the medieval marketplace of Aleppo today, destroying hundreds of shops lining the vaulted passageways where foods, fabrics, perfumes and spices have been sold for centuries, activists said.

Some described the overnight blaze as the worst blow yet to a historic district that helped make the heart of Syria’s largest city and commercial hub a Unesco world heritage site.