A Syrian White Helmets organization member rescues a child from the rubble following Monday's catastrophic earthquake.

DLNews Earthquake:

UPDATE: More than 15,000 dead after horror earthquake

Three days after the horrific earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the death toll has risen to more than 15,000. And the chances of finding survivors among the rubble are dwindling by the hour.

In Turkey, 12,391 people died, according to a new tally released Thursday night by authorities and rescue workers. In Syria, the death toll rose to 2992, bringing the total now reported to 15,383.

Many people are also still missing under rubble in both countries. According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 23 million people could be affected by the consequences of the quake.

The bloodthirsty dictator's cynicism knows no bounds: Just hours after the earthquake, the Syrian regime of the butcher Bashar al-Assad continued to bomb!

Syrian government troops attacked areas affected with mortars shortly after the earthquake disaster, as reported by the Middle East Eye portal, citing Syrian and British politician sources.

Accordingly, the attack was aimed at Marea, a town on the Syrian-Turkish border controlled by rebels. Instead, the shooting took place in the village of Tal Rifaat, a town controlled by Assad's troops. Both cities are in the Aleppo metropolitan area.

Civilians and members of the White Helmets work to rescue people trapped under a destroyed building after the devastating earthquake on the Turkish-Syrian border.

According to a civilian source, the shelling came less than two hours after the earthquake that has killed more than 8,100 people in Turkey and Syria so far. Fears are great that the number of victims will continue to rise. There are also more than 39,200 injured. However, the attack did not incur additional "material or human casualties," said a military source who confirmed the shelling.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly condemned the attack on Marea as "completely unacceptable." "Unfortunately, this speaks to a long-standing pattern of behavior by the Assad regime," he said, according to Sky News.

A military source stationed near the site confirmed the incident to the Middle East Eye (MEE). "Everyone was busy with the earthquake disaster," he said. "Around 2 a.m. I heard the sound of several shells falling on the outskirts of the area."

Mamoun al-Khatib, an activist from Marea, told MEE that four or five shells hit the area. Syrian military reinforcements - some five tanks and other military vehicles - were also sighted Monday morning heading towards Suweida in southern Syria.

This is how the earthquake benefits Syrian butcher Assad

Syria, where war has been raging for eleven years and whose north-eastern part is repeatedly bombed by the Assad regime, was hit particularly hard by the earthquake alongside Turkey.

They are in no way inferior in their brutality; on the contrary: Kremlin tyrant Vladimir Putin (r.) even helps Syrian butcher Bashar al-Assad with mass killings.

But Bashar al-Assad (57) is using the tragedy for a campaign: His regime suddenly wants to be seen as a partner on the international stage - as if it hadn't torn his country into the abyss in the past few years as if it wasn't committing any excessive crimes committed by its population.

As a reminder of the terrible extent of the Syrian war: more than half a million people have been killed. About half of the pre-war population was displaced by the regime's attacks. At least 2.9 million people in Syria are at risk of starvation, according to the UN in January. Another 12 million don't know where to get their next meal from.

On the day of the earthquake (Monday), Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (69) propagated on state television: Damascus is ready to facilitate all procedures "that are necessary for international organizations to provide humanitarian aid."

On Tuesday, the Syrian aid organization Red Crescent called on the West to lift sanctions. "The time has come after this earthquake," said the organization's leader, Chaled Habubati.

He ignored the reason for the Western sanctions: Assad's brutal campaign of annihilation against the civilian population since 2011.

"Aid will only be distributed to those loyal to the regime."

Michael Horowitz (38), an analyst at the Middle East think tank "Le Beck International" to BILD: "The Syrian regime has in the past used humanitarian aid as a weapon by forcing aid to run through 'official channels.' As a result, humanitarian aid has been denied to areas not under its control. Aid will only be distributed to those loyal to the regime."

The expert assumes that the Syrian dictator will play a similar game, "now on an even larger scale, mainly because many of the affected areas in Syria are beyond his control. For Damascus, this earthquake is not a catastrophe: it is an unexpected leverage," Horowitz said. In addition, the years of bombardment meant that buildings collapsed. "Most of the buildings (…) had already been damaged by bombings by the Assad regime. As a result, many collapsed in Aleppo or other Syrian cities," says Kahled A. (28), who lives in the region badly hit by the earthquake.

Aide: Assad campaign 'disgusts us.'

Raed Al Saleh (38), head of the Syrian White Helmets organization, which for years has been rescuing people from the rubble after bombardments by Assad's troops, also speaks of instrumentalization. "Unfortunately, the Assad regime is using the earthquake disaster to achieve political goals. And with success. He is being helped by the United Nations and aid organizations, which describe themselves as neutral," Al Saleh said. As a result, they run out of time to save people. But: "Meanwhile, the Assad regime is concentrating on its political goals. This regime cannot save people. It disgusts us that the Assad regime is ramping up such a campaign at this time, abandoning the people who need help. We feel very sorry for the civilians living under the Assad regime."