An injured Syrian youth cries as he is carried on a gurney following an airstrike in the Maadi neighborhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Dec. 17, 2013. (Credit: Medo Halab/AFP/Getty Images)

The Syrian city of Aleppo, once considered one of the most beautiful cities in the Middle East, now looks like a scene from hell.

In one of the worst attacks in this horrific war, government helicopters dropped "barrel bombs" - large containers filled with explosives, shrapnel and incendiary materials - on several civilian neighborhoods throughout the city in the past three days.

At least 76 people have been killed, including 28 children, according to international aid workers on the scene. The wounded have overwhelmed Aleppo's hospitals.

"It's literally impossible to take care of everything," said Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, a coordinator with Doctors Without Borders, told ABC News today. "This is clearly targeting concentrations of civilians."

Aleppo is now in ruins, and those remaining after more than two years of a grinding war are trapped.

On one side stands the government forces of President Bashar al-Assad, determined to smash all opposition to his rule, and on the other, rebel forces now dominated by extreme jihadists who desire to establish an Islamic state.

Secretary of State John Kerry said today he still believes peace talks can be held next month in Geneva, part of the long, and so far failed, effort by the U.S. to do something, anything, to stop this carnage.