A/HRC/25/65 2. (a) Non-State armed groups Shelling 100. Armed groups continued to shell Nubul and Zahra (Aleppo) using artillery and home-made rockets. In mortar attacks in September and October, young children were killed and wounded. Kurdish civilian populations in Qamishli, Qiro, Ras Al-Ayn and AlMalikiyah (Al-Hasakah) were shelled. 101. Armed groups based in Al Mlihah, Beit Saham and Ein Tarma in eastern Damascus countryside launched home-made rockets and artillery shells into government-controlled areas, notably Jaramana and Mezzeh neighbourhoods, causing civilian deaths. In Bab Tuma, on 11 November, a mortar hit a school bus, killing five children. 102. Non-State armed groups used mortars, artillery shells and home-made rockets in a manner that made no distinction between civilian and military objectives, thereby committing unlawful attacks. 103. While instances were recorded of armed fighters positioned on the outskirts of towns away from civilian populations, most fighters, including those in Aleppo and Ar Raqqah cities, were based among civilians, exposing them to attack and violating international legal obligations to avoid positioning military objectives within or near densely populated areas. (b) Car and suicide bombings 104. Armed groups exploded car and suicide bombs in Al-Hasakah, Ar Raqqah, Homs, Aleppo and Damascus governorates during the period under review. The use of improvised explosive devices was also documented in Homs. 105. On 15 August, ISIS exploded a bomb at a train station in Ar Raqqah, near the headquarters of the Ahfad Al-Rasoul Brigades. On 4 November, a suicide bombing targeted a Hizbullah office in Al-Thabiytiya (Homs). These attacks, while directed at military objectives, resulted in a loss of civilian life and injury to civilians, which was disproportionate in relation to the military advantage anticipated. 106. On 19 September, armed groups remotely detonated landmines placed along a bypass road between Jabourin and Homs city. Three civilian vehicles were hit and nine civilians killed. On 26 November, armed groups exploded a bomb in Al-Sumariyah main station (Damascus), killing dozens of civilians. These three attacks appeared designed to target civilians, a war crime. Such attacks, the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among civilians, are prohibited under international humanitarian law. B. 1. (a) Specifically protected persons and objects Hospitals and health-care personnel Government forces and pro-government militia 107. Government forces continue to destroy hospitals and medical units and to target medical personnel (see also annex VII). During the period under review, attacks were documented in Aleppo, Damascus, Dara’a and Homs governorates. Sick and wounded civilians and hors de combat fighters were also prevented from having access to medical treatment. 108. In Damascus, hospitals in eastern Ghouta were shelled. During a ground invasion in July, forces destroyed a field hospital in Al-Zemaniyah. After the attack on Al-Ghouta on 21 August, shells landed near Al-Fatih hospital, which was treating victims of the chemical 16