They Are Syrian Children Gassed By Bashar al-Assad

Yes, these are real children, and they are all dead. They died on the morning of August 21, 2013.

On that fateful day, Syrian forces under Bashar al-Assad fired 330 mm rockets armed with chemical warheads containing a nerve agent (most likely Sarin) at the rebel-controlled suburbs of Eastern and Western Ghouta.

Hundreds of civilians, including large numbers of children (who were most vulnerable), died in the attack. Those are the children you see in the picture. Here are other pictures taken in the aftermath of the attack.

Note how each child has a tape with a number pencilled on it. They have to be numbered because it was impossible to identify them in the post-attack chaos. After all, their parents probably died in the same attack.

Presumably, this would allow their photos to be taken for later identification by other relatives. As Muslims, these victims must be swiftly buried according to Islamic tradition – preferably before sunset on the same day.