Editor's note: A series of explosions rocked Syria just after 4 am Saturday, as US-led military strikes began in Damascus.
Let's look at sharply contrasting photos of how cities of Syria have changed before and after war began, and how their people have suffered.
Damascus' skies erupt with surface-to-air missile fire as the US launches an attack targeting different parts of Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday, April 14, 2018. Syria's capital was rocked by loud explosions that lit up the sky with heavy smoke, as US President Donald Trump announced airstrikes in retaliation for the country's alleged use of chemical weapons. [Photo/VCG]
This comparison picture created on April 15, 2018 with satellite images taken on April 11, 2018, top, and April 14, 2018 on bottom, showing the Scientific Studies and Research Centre compound in the Barzeh district of Damascus, before and after it was struck in raids by the United States, Britain and France. [Photo/VCG]
A combination picture shows Hamam El Nahasin in the Ancient City of Aleppo, Syria before and after it was damaged. The top photo is from Oct 6, 2010 and the bottom is from Dec 17, 2016. [Photo/VCG]
A combination picture shows the al-Sheebani school building, in the Ancient City of Aleppo, Syria before and after it was damaged. The top photo is from May 14, 2008 and the bottom is from Dec 17, 2016. [Photo/VCG]
A combination picture shows Shahba Mall, one of the largest commercial shopping centers in Syria, before and after it was damaged. The left photo is from Dec 12, 2009 and the right is from Oct 16, 2014. [Photo/VCG]
A combination picture shows the entrance to al-Zarab souk in the Ancient City of Aleppo, Syria on Nov 24, 2008, top, and after it was damaged on Dec 13, 2016. [Photo/VCG]
A combination picture shows the Ancient City of Aleppo, Syria on Nov 24, 2008 on top, and after it was damaged on Dec 13, 2016. [Photo/VCG]
A combination picture shows Aleppo's Umayyad mosque in Syria before it was damaged. The top photo is from Oct 6, 2010 and the bottom is from Dec 17, 2016. [Photo/VCG]
This collage of pictures created on Dec 19, 2017 shows Syrians covering one eye in the rebel-held town of Douma in Syria's besieged eastern Ghouta region, as part of a campaign in solidarity with a baby boy, Karim Abdallah, who lost an eye and his mother after government shelling on the nearby town of Hammouria. [Photo/VCG]
Adi Hudea raises her hands in surrender after confusing photographer Osman Sagirli's camera for a gun. [Photo screenshot from Twitter]
Ammar Hammasho, a Syrian who lives in Cyprus, kisses his children as they arrive at a refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia outside Nicosia, Cyprus on Sept 10, 2017. [Photo/VCG]
Ayham al-Ahmed, a resident of Damascus' Palestinian refugee camp, plays the piano in the middle of a street near destroyed buildings on June 26, 2014. [Photo/VCG]
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