Midday Roundup: Airstrikes in Syria hit hospital, civilians

Humanitarian crisis. Airstrikes in Aleppo, Syria, have killed at least 61 people, including some at a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital. The Syrian opposition accuses the government in Damascus—and its ally Russia—of violating a tenuous cease-fire by bombing civilians in northern Syria. Peace talks in Geneva are deadlocked, and Syrians are regarding the escalating bloodshed with dread, fearing Aleppo likely will be the focus of the war’s next phase. About 200 civilians have been killed in the past week in Syria, nearly half of them around Aleppo.

Diplomatic mission. Vice President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Iraq today to urge the country’s leaders to resolve their political differences and focus on defeating Islamic State (ISIS). The White House said Biden would meet with Iraqi leaders to stress national unity and discuss the campaign against ISIS. He also planned to meet with U.S. personnel working in the country. The Obama administration has stepped up its military role in Iraq with more troops and equipment in hopes of putting the country on a better path before President Barack Obama leaves office in January.

Draft debate. A divided House Armed Services Committee passed a bill that would require women to register for the military draft. Just months ago, the Defense Department lifted all gender-based restrictions on front-line combat units, setting off debate about the role of women in the military. In a twist, the bill’s author, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., did not vote for the legislation. Hunter, a former Marine who served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, does not support drafting women, but said he offered the measure in the House Armed Services Committee to prompt a discussion about the role of women in combat.

Failure to launch. North Korea’s attempted launch of two suspected powerful intermediate-range missiles appeared to fail today, South Korean defense officials said, bringing the total to three apparent failures in recent weeks. The launches likely were the second and third attempted tests of a Musudan, a new intermediate-range missile the North hopes could one day reach U.S. military bases in Asia and the Pacific. This morning, a projectile fired from a North Korean northeastern coastal town crashed a few seconds after liftoff, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said. North Korea’s ruling party has a planned meeting next week during which leader Kim Jong Un is expected to place his stamp more forcefully on a government he inherited after his dictator father’s death in late 2011.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.