Global Security Newswire

Dozens of people were killed on Friday in Syrian Scud missile attacks on the city of Aleppo, the U.S. State Department said.

The Assad regime has been stepping up attacks using the short-range ballistic missile as it seeks to stave off rebel forces in Aleppo and elsewhere around the country, according to news reports.

"The United States government condemns in the strongest possible terms the series of rocket attacks against Aleppo, most recently the attack using Scud missiles on an eastern district of the city late on Friday, Feb. 22, that killed several dozen people," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a prepared statement. "The Friday attack follows the assault on Aleppo of Tuesday, Feb. 19, that destroyed several city blocks in the Jabal Badr district of Aleppo and injured hundreds of innocent civilians."

The United States and NATO allies Germany and the Netherlands have deployed six Patriot air-defense batteries along Turkey's border with Syria.

German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Saturday said there was a "minimal" likelihood of Syria launching missiles against Turkey, Reuters reported.

"Our presence here serves to make sure that Syria doesn't turn its capabilities into action," he said during a trip to Turkey. "We can see from here that Syria is using rockets -- often several times a day."

Syrian President Bashar Assad's military reportedly holds in excess of 1,000 rockets that can fly as far as 435 miles. Scud missiles are among the weapons that could be used to carry nerve or blister agents held by the regime.