US-led coalition raid kills 15 civilians in eastern Syria


Fifteen civilians from the same family were killed in a U.S.-led coalition airstrike late Tuesday in eastern Syria's Deir el-Zour, local sources said. The attack targeted the town of Keshma late Tuesday near the Daesh-held town of Shaafa in the province's countryside, sources quoted by Anadolu Agency (AA) said. There was no comment from the U.S.-led coalition on the report.

Meanwhile, the same sources said clashes between the U.S.-backed PKK affiliate, the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) and Daesh terrorists continued in the Hejjin district of Deir el-Zour.

The U.S.-led coalition provides the YPG with ground and air support in an effort to expel Daesh terrorists from the area.

With U.S. help, YPG terrorists have taken control of the eastern Euphrates and rural areas in western and eastern Deir el-Zor. France also provides the terrorist group with artillery support. Regime forces, meanwhile, maintains control of the western section of Deir el-Zor. So far, YPG terrorists occupy some 28 percent of Syrian land, while Daesh holds approximately 3 percent.

In October, several mosques were targeted by the U.S.-led coalition in Hejjin, which left dozens of its residents dead.