News / Syria

23 more Syrians dead as US-led coalition bombs Daesh-held Raqqah

Friday, 18 August 2017 5:58 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 18 August 2017 5:59 PM ]

In this file photo, smoke rises following an airstrike by US-led coalition aircraft in Kobani, Syria, during fighting between Syrian Kurds and Daesh terrorists. (Photo by Getty Images)

Nearly two dozen civilians have lost their lives when the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group conducted a series of aerial assaults in Syria’s militant-held northern city of Raqqah.

Local sources told Arabic-language Sky News Arabia television news network that airstrikes targeted a building in the Tosiyah neighborhood of the city, located about 455 kilometers (283 miles) northeast of the capital Damascus, on Friday, leaving 23 civilians dead.

The sources added that the victims were members of the same family, noting that thirteen children were among the deceased. The attacks left a number of people injured as well.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, in two separate letters sent to UN Secretary General António Guterres and rotating President of the UN Security Council Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta on Thursday, called on the United Nations to take on its responsibilities concerning the establishment of international peace and security to put an end to the US-led coalition’s crimes against innocent Syrians.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry also accused the US-led coalition of using guided bombs and internationally-banned white phosphorus munitions in flagrant violation of international law and human rights principles.

Earlier on Thursday, Syria’s official news agency, SANA, reported that the US-led military aircraft had bombarded residential buildings in the city of al-Jala, located along the Euphrates River and south of the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr, as well as the towns of At-Tayana, al-Zabari, Boqruss and Subaikhan.

The report added that six people, including three children, were killed in the attacks, noting that the airstrikes also destroyed a number of houses, public properties and civilian infrastructure in the targeted areas.

The US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

The military alliance has repeatedly been accused of targeting and killing civilians. It has also been largely incapable of fulfilling its declared aim of destroying Daesh.

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