2014 Aleppo bombing

In the weeks preceding the bombing, the rebel group Islamic Front, and other rebel groups, had been attacking government-held positions within the city.[1] On 6 May, a rebel bombing had occurred near Ma'arat al-Nu'man, killing 30 government operatives.[2]

The Carlton Citadel Hotel occupied a 150-year-old building in which government troops had been stationed (opposition claim). A statement from the Islamic Front referred to the building as a "barracks";[1] troops had been based there for two years.[3] It was originally built as a hospital for World War I and was afterward renovated and reopened as a hotel.[4]

In February 2014, a similar operation occurred at the Carlton Citadel Hotel;[5] the Islamic Front was also responsible for that blast, having spent two months digging a 300-metre-long (980 ft) tunnel and planting explosives in it as a part of Operation Earthquake.[2][5] That explosion killed five soldiers and wounded eighteen.[6] The attack resulted in the hotel's "partial collapse".[7]

Though reports differ, the Islamic Front tunnelled either 400 metres (1,300 ft)[3] or 100 metres (330 ft)[7] under sites in the Old City, and remotely detonated "a large quantity", reportedly 20 tons[7] of explosive material[1] (suggested to be chemical fertilisers[7]) which caused a "huge explosion";[8] resulting in both the destruction of the hotel and severe damage to neighboring buildings.[2][1]

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the death toll as 14 government troops, but the Islamic Front claimed the death toll was 50[1] in a Twitter statement.[9] Neither[7] gave an explanation as to how they reached their estimate.[1] The Islamic Front also released a video of the attack online.[3]

The bombing left the hotel as a "pile of rubble", and felt similar to an earthquake in relation to the blast size.[7]

Reports following the attack blamed "terrorists", a word the government uses as a byword for the Islamic armed opposition.[10]