U.S. Airstrikes Kill Dozens of Civilians in Eastern Syria
DAMASCUS (Dispatches) -- Airstrikes by the U.S. in eastern Syria have killed at least 32 civilians in less than 24 hours, a war monitor said.
Strikes on the village of Sousa killed 18 civilians, including seven children, late on Thursday and 14 more civilians on Friday, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Dozens were wounded and many remained under the rubble in the village, which is in the eastern Syrian province of Dayr al-Zawr near the Iraqi border, said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the London-based group.
Daesh overran large areas of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate" on the lands it controlled. The group has since lost most of that territory to various offensives in both countries.
In Syria, the group has seen its presence reduced to parts of the vast Badia desert and a pocket in Dayr al-Zawrr that includes Sousa.
While Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's whereabouts is unknown, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces - a Kurdish group that is backed by the U.S. - believe other "major leaders" are hiding out in the pocket, according to Dayr al-Zawr military council chief Ahmad Abu Khawla.
"Most of the frontline commanders in this pocket are Iraqis," he told AFP last month.
The SDF launched an offensive last month to wrest the Dayr al-Zawr pocket from Daesh, and it has said the battle will likely take longer than expected.
Since 2014, the U.S. has taken direct responsibility for more than 1,100 civilian deaths in Syria and Iraq, but rights groups estimate the number to be much higher.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says U.S.-led strikes in Syria alone have killed more than 3,300 civilians.
Strikes on the village of Sousa killed 18 civilians, including seven children, late on Thursday and 14 more civilians on Friday, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Dozens were wounded and many remained under the rubble in the village, which is in the eastern Syrian province of Dayr al-Zawr near the Iraqi border, said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the London-based group.
Daesh overran large areas of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate" on the lands it controlled. The group has since lost most of that territory to various offensives in both countries.
In Syria, the group has seen its presence reduced to parts of the vast Badia desert and a pocket in Dayr al-Zawrr that includes Sousa.
While Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's whereabouts is unknown, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces - a Kurdish group that is backed by the U.S. - believe other "major leaders" are hiding out in the pocket, according to Dayr al-Zawr military council chief Ahmad Abu Khawla.
"Most of the frontline commanders in this pocket are Iraqis," he told AFP last month.
The SDF launched an offensive last month to wrest the Dayr al-Zawr pocket from Daesh, and it has said the battle will likely take longer than expected.
Since 2014, the U.S. has taken direct responsibility for more than 1,100 civilian deaths in Syria and Iraq, but rights groups estimate the number to be much higher.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says U.S.-led strikes in Syria alone have killed more than 3,300 civilians.