US-led coalition air strikes kill 14 civilians in eastern Syria: monitor
- Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says death toll likely to rise due to number of people wounded
- The strikes were targeting IS fighters in three villages in eastern Deir Ezzor province
At least 14 civilians were killed on Saturday in US-led coalition air strikes on the Islamic State group’s last holdout in eastern Syria, a monitor said.
“Fourteen civilians, including five children under the age of 18, were killed in the coalition air raids on the villages of Hajin, Sousa and Al-Shaafa” in eastern Deir Ezzor province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“The death toll is likely to rise due to the number of seriously wounded,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
At least nine IS jihadists were killed in the raids, he added.
The coalition was not immediately available for comment.
Strikes on the area intensified following an attempted jihadist attack on a coalition base in the nearby village of Al-Bahra, the Britain-based monitor said.
