Syrian regime forces backed by Russian warplanes pounded a rebel-held suburb of the capital, intensifying months of attacks in catastrophic scenes reminiscent of the scorched-earth campaign that flattened much of Aleppo.

Some 160 people, including women, children and a rescue worker, have been killed in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, over the past two days, activist and medical groups said—one of the highest death tolls in years there.

...