Amman - More than 170 civilians have been
killed by US-led strikes on Islamic State in Raqqa city in the
past week, a spike in casualties since an offensive to oust the
militants began more than two months ago, a war monitor and
sources said.
The US-led coalition against Islamic State said attacks on
militant targets were conducted routinely and the allegation had
been sent to their teams for assessment.
The monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said at least 42 people, including 19 children and 12 women,
were killed on Monday in strikes that destroyed buildings where
families were sheltering.
The Britain-based Observatory said that was the single
largest daily death toll since the US-backed Syria Democratic
Forces (SDF), a group of Kurdish and Arab militias, began their
assault on Raqqa last June after a long campaign to isolate
Islamic State inside the city.
Former Raqqa residents in touch with relatives still in the
city echoed this view to Reuters.
The US-led coalition says it is careful to avoid civilian
casualties in its bombing runs against Islamic State in both
Syria and Iraq, and investigates any allegations.
"The Coalition respects human life and is assisting partner
forces in their effort to liberate their land from ISIS while
safeguarding civilians. Our goal is always for zero civilian
casualties," a statement sent to Reuters by the Pentagon said
The Observatory said bombs that hit the al-Sakhani and Harat
al-Bado districts on Monday were close to a multi-storey
residential building that had been bombed the day before,
killing at least 27 civilians, including seven children.
Former Raqqa residents in touch with relatives gave a higher
death toll, saying many bodies were still under rubble.
The SDF alliance, spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia,
has been waging fierce battles inside the Old City area of Raqqa
since last month. Fighting is now intensifying near the city
centre as the US-backed forces close in on Islamic State.
Footage of the Old City released by activists showed
extensive damage to buildings around the historic Old Mosque.
Amaq, an Islamic State-affiliated news agency, released a
video on Monday showing at least a dozen corpses, many of them
children, lying on the floor. It claimed the video was shot in
Raqqa on Monday and showed victims of coalition air strikes, as
well as extensive damage to residential areas.
Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the video.
An activist-run group "Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently"
said it had documented at least 946 civilian deaths since the
Raqqa offensive began in June.
The United Nations says at least 200 000 people have fled
Raqqa in recent months and that up to 20,000 civilians remain
trapped inside.
The plight of civilians left in the city has worsened, with
water cut off for over two months and shortages of food, leaving
many of those remaining living on canned foods.