BFF-48 US-led coalition raids kill 12 civilians in Syria’s Hasakeh

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BFF-48

SYRIA-HASAKEH-JIHADISTS

US-led coalition raids kill 12 civilians in Syria’s Hasakeh

BEIRUT, June 2, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – At least 12 civilians — members of the
same family — have been killed in US-led coalition raids on the Islamic
State group in northeastern Syria, a monitor said Saturday.

“The air strikes and artillery fire (Friday night) by the international
coalition on the village of Hidaj, held by IS in the southern sector of
Hasakeh province, killed at least 12 people,” the Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said.

The civilians — including two women and their children — belonged to the
same family, it added.

The deaths bring to “20 the number of civilians killed by the coalition in
24 hours east of the Euphrates River”, said the Observatory, which relies on
a network of sources across Syria for its reports.

On Thursday, eight other civilians were killed in coalition strikes in
Deir Ezzor province, south of Hasakeh.

IS jihadists have lost most of the self-proclaimed “caliphate” they once
controlled in large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq since 2014.

Today, the jihadists hold less than three percent of Syria, according to
the Observatory said. In Deir Ezzor, the mainly Kurdish Syrian Democratic
Forces — supported by the US-led coalition — are trying to dislodge
jihadists from the east bank of the Euphrates.

The coalition said Friday its airstrikes in Syria and Iraq had
“unintentionally” killed 892 civilians since its bombing campaign began
nearly four years ago.

More than 350,000 people have been killed in Syria’s war since it started
in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

It has since spiralled into a complex conflict involving world powers and
foreign jihadists.

BSS/AFP/FI/ 1508 hrs