"Mistake" airstrikes by the USA and its allies

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Deir Ezzor, SANA – Warplanes of the US-led coalition committed a new massacre against locals of villages of Deir Ezzor, leaving scores of them dead or injured as a result of raids.

US-led coalition airstrikes kill more than 18 civilians in Deir Ezzor 27 July، 2017
http://sana.sy/en/?p=110855

Local sources told SANA that the warplanes of the US–led coalition shelled al-Tibeh town in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, claiming the lives of 18 civilians and injuring more than 20 others, in addition to causing material damage to houses and infrastructure.

The sources added that more civilians were killed and others were injured due to raids carried out by the coalition’s aircrafts targeting al-Tayyana village near al-Mayadin city, the Water Station of Marat village in the northern countryside and al-Shmeitiyeh village in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor.

Thirty civilians were killed and several more were wounded in the US-led coalition air raids on Raqqa city.

30 More Civilians Killed in US-Led Coalition Airstrikes in Eastern Raqqa Thu Jul 27, 2017
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960505000270

The US-led coalition warplanes bombed heavily the Raqqa city, killing at least 30 civilians, including 8 children, and wounding several more.

At least 5 civilians were killed in the Kurdish forces' attacks on residential areas.

Relevant reports said earlier that over 20 civilians were killed in the US-led coalition air raids in the provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzur.

The US-led coalition fighter jets bombed the villages of al-Kashkiyeh and Abu Hamam in Eastern Deir Ezzur, killing 21 civilians and wounding several more.

In the meantime, three civilians were killed in the air raids in Raqqa city.

Also, the US-led coalition warplanes bombed heavily the town of al-Mayadeen in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, killing eight civilians and wounding several more.

Also, the warplanes raided the village of al-Sobheh in Eastern Deir Ezzur, killing a number of civilians, including several children.

In the meantime, the coalition fighter jets pounded residential areas in Raqqa city, killing seven members of a family.

A number of civilians were killed or wounded in the US-led collation air attacks in Raqqa city

More Civilians Killed in US Airstrikes in Northeastern Syria Wed Jul 26, 2017
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960504000954

The warplanes pounded al-Dari'eh neighborhood in Raqqa city, killing five civilians and wounding several more.

In the meantime, 18 civilians were killed and 50 more were wounded in clashes between the ISIL and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Raqqa's neighborhoods.

Relevant reports said last week that the US-led coalition warplanes bombed heavily the village of Zour Shemr and Ma'adan region in Eastern Raqqa,
killing 15 civilians, including 3 children, and wounding several more.

Medical sources said that a number of wounded people are in critical conditions, raising the possibility for increased toll in the airstrikes.

 

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Over 25 civilians, including women and children, were killed and several more wounded in the US-led coalition air attacks in Raqqa city and a town in Eastern Deir Ezzur in last 24 hours.

More Women, Children Killed in US Airstrikes in Northeastern, Eastern Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960507000452

21 civilians, including 15 members of a family, were killed in the US air raid on Raqqa city in Northeastern Syria. Eight of the casaulties killed in the Raqqa air attack were children.

Field reports said that tens of others were wounded in the Raqqa airstrike, adding that some of the injured are in critical condition increasing the possibility of a rise in the death toll.

In the meantime, the fighter jets targeted the town of al-Mayadeen in Eastern Deir Ezzur, killing five civilians and wounding 20 more.

Relevant reports said on Thursday that thirty civilians were killed and several more were wounded in the US-led coalition air raids on Raqqa city.

The US-led coalition warplanes bombed heavily the Raqqa city, killing at least 30 civilians, including 8 children, and wounding several more.

At least 5 civilians were killed in the Kurdish forces' attacks on residential areas.

 

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The US-led coalition's aircraft has attacked the Syrian settlement of Abukamal in the Deir ez-Zor province, SANA reported on Sunday.

US-Led Coalition Strikes Hospital in Syria's Deir ez-Zor - Reports 30.07.2017
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201707301056007588-us-coalition-attacks-hospital-syria/

The news agency said the airstrike hit a hospital, among other sites. Six people were killed and 10 others wounded.

This is the fourth air raid of the coalition in Deir ez-Zor over the month, according to SANA.

On Saturday, SANA reported that the coalition, which ostensibly fights Daesh, hit houses in al-Mayadeen, killing 10, including five children.

On July 27, the news agency reported that a US-led coalition airstrike in the eastern Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor claimed the lives of 18 civilians and left over 20 injured. Eyewitnesses specified that the attack hit Tayba, located in the western part of the province near Mayadeen, also damaging houses and local infrastructure, according to SANA.

In late June the coalition conducted three airstrikes killing 90 civilians, including women and children, in a village and al-Mayadeen.

The US-led coalition of 68 nations started to carry out airstrikes against Daesh in Syria and Iraq in 2014, with the strikes in Syria not being authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.

Syrian Foreign Ministry has sent letters to the United Nations and the UN Security Council, calling on the organizations to address civilian casualties from the airstrikes carried out by the US-led coalition in Syria, local media reported Sunday.

Damascus Calls on UN to Address Civilian Deaths From US-Led Airstrikes
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201707301056017204-damascus-civilian-deaths-un/

The ministry sent a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and to the President of the UN Security Council (UNSC) asking the UNSC to fulfill its commitments on maintaining peace and international security, and prevent the coalition from committing crimes against Syrian people.

Earlier in the day the SANA news agency reported that he US-led coalition's aircraft attacked the Syrian settlement of Abukamal in the Deir ez-Zor province, killing at least six people. The news agency said the airstrike hit a hospital, among other sites.

The reported attack the fourth air raid of the coalition in Deir ez-Zor over the month, according to SANA.

On Saturday, SANA reported that the coalition, which ostensibly fights Daesh, hit houses in al-Mayadeen, killing 10, including five children.

The US-led coalition denied on Sunday hitting near the Syrian city of Al Mayadin, according to the coalition's spokesperson.

US-Led Coalition Denies Airstrikes Near Syria's Al Mayadin on July 29
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201707301056017473-us-led-coalition-strikes-syria/

The aircraft of the coalition led by the United States did not carry out airstrikes near the Syrian city of Al Mayadin on July 29, the coalition's representative told Sputnik Sunday.

"At this time our records show that the Coalition did not conduct strikes near Mayadin, Syria on July 29, 2017," the spokesperson said.

 

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The US-led coalition identified 21 new unintentional civilian casualties in strikes conducted against Daesh terrorists that has brought the total number of civilians killed in the operations to 624, Operation Inherent Resolve said in its monthly casualties report on Friday.

US Coalition Updates Number of Civilians Killed in Strikes in Iraq, Syria to 624 04.08.2017
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708041056183275-coalition-iraq-syria-civilians-killed/

On Thursday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that Syrian authorities have sent letters to the UN Security Council and the UN secretary general demanding to condemn the actions of the international coalition led by the United States, resulting in deaths of civilians.

It is more likely than not, at least 624 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve," the report stated.

Earlier in the day, Sana news agency reported that the US-led coalition carried out airstrikes in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, leaving a woman and 7 children dead.

Last week, Sana news agency reported several times that civilians were killed in US-led coalition's strikes in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor.

The US-led coalition of 68 nations has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh terrorist group in Syria and Iraq since 2014. The strikes in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.

Death From the Sky: The US Air Force's Mistaken Airstrikes (Graph)

US-led coalition airstrikes, targeting civilians instead of Daesh positions, occur too often, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday, commenting on alleged Belgian airstrike against a Syrian village in northern Aleppo.

Russian MoD Slams US-Led Coalition's Strikes on Weddings, Funerals, Hospitals (Back-dated 19.10.2016)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201610191046508948-us-coalition-collateral-damage/

The Russian center for Syrian reconciliation said Tuesday it had received local reports of an airstrike on the Syrian village of Hassajek that killed six people and wounded at least four. According to its bulletin, Russian or Syrian aircraft did not operate in the area at the time of the strike while air traffic control systems detected two F-16 fighter jets of the Air Force of the Kingdom of Belgium at the time of the strike.

Earlier in the day, Belgian Defense Minister Steven Vandeput dismissed claims regarding the country's responsibility for the airstrike on the village of Hassajek near Aleppo that killed six people.

"Russia has effective air defense means, which ensure round-the-clock monitoring of the air situation practically over all the territory of Syria and beyond," ministry's spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.

Konashenkov said that targeting mistakes by the member countries of the international coalition, including Belgium, unfortunately, occur regularly.

"Weddings, funerals, hospitals, police departments, humanitarian convoys and even Syrian troops, fighting against Daesh terrorists near Deir ez-Zor, become targets for coalition airstrikes," Konashenkov stressed.

The US-led coalition fighter jets bombed several regions in Raqqa city on Thursday night, killing at least 18 civilians and wounding several more, an Arab media outlet reported Friday.

More Civilians Killed in US Air Raids in Northeastern Syria Fri Aug 04, 2017
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960513000382

The Arabic-language al-Ahd reported that 18 civilians were killed in the US airstrikes in Raqqa city, while Qasiyoun news website affiliated to opposition groups reported that eight members of a family were among the civilians killed in the air attack.

The warplanes, meantime, targeted al-Thaknah neighborhood in the Western direction of the Central part of the city, killing several civilians.

Baladi news network, affiliated to opposition groups, announced that 189 civilians were killed in US air attacks in Raqqa in July.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are now battling ISIL in Raqqa city, while the Syrian Army troops in Southern and Southeastern territories of the province have scored significant victories against ISIL.

A military source reported that the army men have driven ISIL out of a region 30km in length along the Southern banks of the Euphrates River.

In the meantime, over 50 civilians were killed in the US airstrike on Raqqa countryside, old mine and al-Tabni region, the sources said, adding that a large number of civilians are leaving Deir Ezzur in groups.

News websites affiliated to the dissidents reported on Thursday that the coalition fighter jets' attacks on several districts in Raqqa city left 62 civilians dead.

The websites quoted local sources as saying that 12 members of a family, including several women and children, were among those killed in the US airstrikes against al-Toseiyeh district in Raqqa city.

Meantime, the US-led coalition warplanes pounded al-Mayadeen desert and the town of Albu Kamal in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, leaving several civilians dead and wounded.

Over 60 civilians were killed and dozens of others were wounded in the US-led coalition's bombing of Raqqa and Deir Ezzur provinces in Syria.

Tens of Civilians Killed in US-Led Coalition Airstrikes in Raqqa, Deir Ezzur
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960512000331

News websites affiliated to the dissidents reported that the coalition fighter jets' attacks on several districts in Raqqa city in the past 24 hours have left 62 civilians dead.

The websites quoted local sources as saying that 12 members of a family, including several women and children, were among those killed in the US airstrikes against al-Toseiyeh district in Raqqa city.

Meantime, the US-led coalition warplanes pounded al-Mayadeen desert and the town of al-Bu Kamal in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, leaving several civilians dead and wounded.

On Wednesday, the US-led coalition fighter jets bombed different towns and regions in the provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzur, killing and injuring over 90 civilians, including children. The warplanes targeted Bousaraya region in Raqqa, killing and wounding 30 civilians.

Also, the fighter jets bombed the village of al-Kashkiyeh in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, leaving a child dead and several more wounded.

In the meantime, US air raids left a sum of 60 civilian casualties in the villages of al-Kashma, al-Showayt, al-Dawayer and al-Asharah.

Relevant reports said on Tuesday that the US-led coalition warplanes bombed more towns and villages in Eastern Deir Ezzur, killing or wounding over 80 civilians.

The fighter jets pounded al-Dowayer and al-Asharah in Eastern Deir Ezzur, leaving 22 civilians dead and 40 more injured.

In the meantime, 18 civilians were killed in the US airstrike in the town of al-Showayt.

Media reports said the Canadian government is investigating reports that Saudi Arabia is using armored vehicles made in Canada against its own civilians.

Reports: Saudi Arabia Using Canadian Military Trucks against Own Civilians
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960512000870

According to a report published by the British paper, the Guardian, these allegations have prompted renewed scrutiny over Ottawa's recent decision to sign off on a billion-dollar arms deal with the kingdom, Bahrain Mirror reported.

Also several sources told the Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail that the vehicles being used appeared to be Gurkha RPVs made in Ontario by Terradyne Armoured Vehicles.

Canadian officials said they were deeply concerned by the reports. "We are looking at these claims very seriously ... and have immediately launched a review," Justin Trudeau told reporters.

The ministry of global affairs said it was concerned over the escalating violence in eastern Saudi Arabia. In a statement issued last week, it highlighted the casualties among civilians and security forces and urged Riyadh to confront its security challenges in "a manner that abides by international human rights law".

Days later, the ministry said the government was actively seeking more information about the reports of civilian casualties and claims that Canadian-made vehicles were involved. "If it is found that Canadian exports have been used to commit serious violations of human rights, the minister will take action," a spokesperson for department told the Guardian. He did not answer questions around what kinds of actions this could entail.

Terradyne Armored Vehicles did not respond to a request for comment.

In Canada, Amnesty International pointed to the indications that Canadian vehicles are being used against civilians to call on the Liberal government to reverse its support of the billion-dollar arms deal.

The Saudi military men clashed with civilians and shelled a number of residential areas in Awamiyah region in the Eastern parts of the country.

Saudi Forces Shell Civilians in Awamiyah Wed Aug 02, 2017
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960511001572

Twitter activists quoted local sources as saying that the Wednesday clashes in Awamiyah region have left 7 people, including 2 policemen, dead and several others wounded.

Following the clashes, the Saudi army targeted residential areas in Awamiyah with several rounds of artillery and mortar shelling.

According to the sources, the Saudi forces have called on residents in Awamiyah to leave the region or face death.

The social media activists also reported that the people in Awamiyah have no access to mobile or landline and internet, adding that the Saudi army does not even allow transfer of the wounded to the hospital.

Saudi Arabia has put a travel ban on media activists to visit the Eastern parts of the country.

In recent months, Qatif province in Eastern Saudi Arabia has seen a hike in tensions, with Saudi regime forces, equipped with artillery and heavy weapons, launching frequent attacks against the besieged town of Awamiyah to quell the protests under the pretext of clashing with “militants” there.

The protesters in Awamiyah are angry at a plan by the regime to destroy the al-Mosara neighborhood, the old quarter of the town, and turn it into a commercial zone in defiance of warnings both by locals and the United Nations.

Some seven people have been killed by the Saudi military in the town over the past days.

 

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Reports: Saudi Arabia Using Canadian Military Trucks against Own Civilians
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960512000870

Saudi Forces Shell Civilians in Awamiyah Wed Aug 02, 2017
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960511001572

Shocking Footage Of Saudi Siege Against Own Citizens Aug 4, 2017
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-08-04/shocking-footage-saudi-siege-against-own-citizens

The Saudi regime is in the midst of an extreme and brutal crackdown against its own citizenry in the country's Eastern province - a situation now spiraling out of control with rising civilian deaths, entire neighborhoods turned to rubble, and new reports that water and electricity have been cut to the now completely besieged town of Al-Awamiya. Though local activists continue to upload shocking ground level videos to social media revealing that entire districts have been leveled, international and US media have remained largely silent.

Tensions have been simmering in the heavily Shia populated Qatif governate throughout the past year, especially after the January execution of prominent Shia cleric and Al-Awamiya native Nimr al-Nimr. Additionally, 14 Shia citizens, among them young Mujtaba al-Sweikat - a student enrolled at Western Michigan University - currently await execution upon the signature of King Salman. The torture and mass trial of the group, charged with "protest-related" crimes has further inflamed tensions in the region. Large protests against the Saudi monarchy and security services have been frequent in Qatif going all the way back to the start of the so-called "Arab Spring" - though major international media outlets have tended to ignore such protests occurring under US/UK friendly regimes.

This was especially the case when in 2011 hundreds of Saudi tanks crossed the King Fahd Causeway to quell a popular uprising against neighboring Bahrain's Sunni monarchy. Western media treated the event as a relatively minor hiccup, with some reports even subtly framing Saudi actions as actually motivated by the protection of civilians from Bahraini security forces, while in reality it was a massive show of force pitting tanks against civilians in order to preserve the embattled Bahraini autocratic regime.

This week, things have escalated dramatically as Saudi authorities have concentrated a barrage of fire on Awamiya's four-hundred year old walled historic Al-Mosara neighborhood, including reported use of air power, heavy artillery, RPGs, snipers and armored assault vehicles in the area. Earlier this year the Saudi regime announced plans to demolish the neighborhood and hand it over to private developers in a kind of Saudi version of "eminent domain"; however, the presence of Shia militants hiding amidst its narrow roads and concealed alleyways appears the be the real motive for razing the district. Though sporadic fighting has occurred throughout the summer, the siege began in the last week of July when bulldozers and armored vehicles poured into the town to initiate demolition while security forces simultaneously attempted to root out Shia militants. Multiple Middle East based news outlets reported at least 5 civilians killed during the initial entry of Saudi forces - online activist accounts are now reporting many dozens slain since the start of the recent incursion.

Before and during the start of the siege local citizens were promised government-sponsored "relocation", though activists describe it as a concealed sectarian-based cleansing of the Shia population, which has been historically persecuted by the Sunni Wahhabi state. Regional news outlets have published footage which they say reveals active sectarian anti-Shia cleansing on the part of Saudi forces currently underway:

An activist originally from Awamiya named Ameen Nemer told Middle East Eye that there is a conscious effort on the part of the authorities to forcibly change the identity of the town:

What I see from the first day there is a collective punishment... there is a plan for forced displacement. It has nothing to do with Al-Mosara and development, it has to do with punishing this town for being vocal for calling for rights, calling for reforms since 2011.

A press release issued in May by the UN Human Rights Commission responded to previously announced Saudi plans to demolish residential areas for commercial development. The UN statement hints that the town's identity is indeed what is at stake here:

The UN experts warned the development plan for the Al-Masora quarter threatens the historical and cultural heritage of the town with irreparable harm, and may result in the forced eviction of numerous people from their businesses and residences.

UN experts seemed to have forewarned that the the whole initiative would involve forceful evacuation using extreme coercive measures, yet stopped short of condemning the plans outright:

Residents have been pressured in many ways, including through power cuts, to vacate their homes and businesses without adequate alternative resettlement options, leaving them at best with insufficient compensation and at worst, with nowhere to go...

It appears that the demolition has been announced without any meaningful consultation with the residents, and without having considered less damaging alternatives, like restoration, or adequate notice informing them about the demolition plans.

Gunfire as government bulldozers destroy civilian infrastructure: ground footage of Saudi authorities razing Shia neighborhoods in the country's eastern province. Some videos are reportedly being uploaded to personal social media pages by Saudi soldiers themselves to brag about their role in the siege, after which the footage is culled by opposition activists.

And now the assault has reached a violent crescendo. On Thursday Al-Masdr News reported that Saudi regime forces fired upon a civilian bus as it tried to flee Awamiya, killing the bus driver (other unconfirmed reports further mention the wounding of women and children). A Reuters report, however, presented conflicting accounts of the incident, while also attempting to justify the whole brutal siege of Awamiya merely as Saudi security attempting to apprehend "gunmen behind attacks on police." While details and the accuracy of various reports of atrocities are unclear, with activists citing dozens of civilians killed at the hands of the government and state-aligned media claiming Shia fighters have killed multiple police, lack of independent media access has made assessing the day to day situation difficult.

This week, Beirut-based Al Mayadeen News was the first Arabic language satellite broadcaster to feature video footage coming out of besieged Awamiya. The report references military jets flying over the town and shows a uniformed man firing an RPG into an urban area. Saudi opposition activists say the man is a Saudi soldier. View the report with English subtitles here: (Video)

Meanwhile, Middle East Eye has obtained a document which activists say is being placed on homes in and around the besieged town. It is a property seizure notice ordering residents to relocate and is stamped by the Saudi government's National Joint Counterterrorism Command (NJCC). It gives instructions on relocation procedures - Middle East Eye cited activists as saying displaced families have yet to be rehoused.

Though still not widely reported in US press, the Canadian government has come under fire for providing armored military vehicles that the Saudis may be using in their crackdown against civilians. In 2013 Canada struck its own record breaking deal - worth over $13 billion - to supply Saudi Arabia with an undisclosed number of Light Armored Vehicles manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS).

Last week Canada's The Globe and Mail published an investigative report which found that, "video footage and photos have surfaced on social media allegedly showing the Islamic kingdom using Canadian weaponized equipment against Saudi civilians" specifically as part of the Awamiya assault which resulted in civilian deaths. The report confirmed, based on expert analysis, that Canadian vehicles are being used - though images analyzed showed Gurkha RPVs, made by Terradyne Armored Vehicles (based in Newmarket, Ontario) - and not the General Dynamics vehicles of the 2013 contract. It appears other private companies in Canada have been making their own deals with the Saudi government - all of which are now coming under scrutiny.

The report prompted a response by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: "We are looking at these claims very seriously... and have immediately launched a review". Various Canadian parliamentarians have urged the current Liberal government to cancel the contract on the grounds that it allegedly violates Canada's weapons export-control rules. Rights monitoring groups also weighed in. Amnesty International Canada secretary-general Alex Neve called on the government to stop all armored vehicle exports, saying:

Indications that Canadian-made armored vehicles are perhaps being utilized as Saudi forces mobilize in the east of the country highlight how crucial it is that the government intervene and put an immediate end to the Canadian/Saudi LAV deal.

The US and UK remain Saudi Arabia's largest suppliers of advanced weaponry and have a long history of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses. Ironically, the kingdom's increasingly restive Shia population is concentrated in an eastern region which produces much of the world's oil. In 2012, a pipeline explosion possibly at the hands of Shia militants in the same region, caused the price of crude to momentarily rocket upward on fears that the "Arab Spring" had entered the oil-rich province.

It's been widely acknowledged that since Saudi Arabia's founding, Shia citizens have been marginalized on religious grounds by the official Wahhabi state religion which sees them as heretics in league with Iranian interests, especially since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Saudi Shia communities have been perpetual historic flashpoint areas witnessing cycles of protests, shootings, mass detentions, and long-term economic neglect. Demonstrations have long been banned throughout all of Saudi Arabia - a fact rarely highlighted in Western press reports.

Currently, unconfirmed reports issued by Iran-aligned media claim Yemeni opposition fighters have sacked Saudi bases and small outposts in the southwestern Jizan region, inflicting troop casualties on Saudi soil for the first time. While Qatif in the east spirals out of control, blowback from Saudi Arabia's two year long air war on Yemen is looking increasingly likely.

As we've reported recently in Saudi Arabia’s March Towards Civil War combined tensions and fissures at multiple levels of the Saudi state, including within the royal family itself, are nearing a breaking point. Could this latest round of extreme measures against Shia dissent - which appear increasingly desperate and are now going public - mark the beginning of a permanently fractured kingdom?

 

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The aircraft of the US-led coalition carried out several airstrikes on the residential areas of the Syrian city of Raqqa leaving at least 43 civilians killed and others injured, Sana news agency reported Saturday.

After Bombing Raqqa Hospital, Coalition Airstrikes Reportedly Kill 43 Civilians
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708051056217110-raqqa-bombing-civilians-coalition/

The Syrian state-run Sana agency reported citing sources that the coalition airstrikes had also caused damage to the civilian infrastructure.

Earlier in the day, Sana reported citing the deputy head of the local branch of the Red Crescent, that the US-led coalition allegedly struck a Raqqa hospital used exclusively by civilians with banned phosphorus bombs.

This was not the first time the US-led coalition used banned phosphorus bombs in Raqqa airstrikes. In June, the coalition explained to Sputnik that it used white phosphorus to screen and mark targets in Raqqa during the operation to liberate the Syrian city from Daesh.

Syrian media have repeatedly reported about the cases of the US-led coalition shelling of the civilian infrastructure objects leading to casualties.

On Friday, Sana news agency reported that coalition warplanes struck Raqqa leaving a woman and 7 children dead. The same day, the US-led coalition updated the number civilian casualties in its anti-Daesh operation in Syria and Iraq that has risen to 624 people since the start of the campaign.

Last week, Sana news agency reported several times that civilians were killed in US-led coalition's strikes in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor.

The US-led coalition of 68 nations has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh terrorist group in Syria and Iraq since 2014. The strikes in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.

The US-led coalition has allegedly struck a hospital in Syria's Raqqa with phosphorus bombs, Sana news agency reported citing the deputy head of the local branch of the Red Crescent.

US Coalition Reportedly Launches Strike With Phosphorus Bombs on Raqqa Hospital
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708051056204809-coalition-phosphorus-bombs-raqqa/

Deputy Director of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent "SARC" Branch in Raqqa Dina al-Asa'ad said as cited by Sana that the shelling of the National Hospital in Raqqa by the coalition with phosphorus bombs occurred on Thursday night.

The hospital was also shelled with more than 20 shells which targeted the electricity generators, the ambulances and a number of departments inside the hospital," Sana reported citing al-Asa'ad.

According to the Red Crescent representative, the bombed Raqqa hospital provided services for over 100 people, while Daesh terrorist group has its own hospitals and private medical centers.

Al-Asa'ad emphazided that there were no terrorists in the Raqqa hospital targeted by the US-led coalition.

The chairman of the Supreme Security Council of Iran, Ali Shamkhani, said that the airstrikes of the US-led coalition in Syrian Raqqa reduce security in the region and strengthen terrorism.

US Strikes Against Civilians in Syria: 'Genocide' Which 'Strengthens Terrorism'
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708061056234384-us-strikes-syria-genocide-terrorism/

On Saturday, the Syrian news agency SANA reported with reference to the deputy head of the local Red Crescent branch that an international coalition led by the United States carried out an airstrike using phosphorous bombs on a hospital in Raqqa.

At a meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis in Tehran, Shamkhani accused Washington of violating human rights and stressed that the coalition operates in the country without the consent of the Syrian government or the UN mandate.

“Referring to a high civilian death toll in Raqqah, Shamkhani said the US air raids amounted to genocide as American warplanes used banned weapons and ammunition in their attacks,” Press TV reported.

He said the US aerial assaults were also a blatant example of human rights violation, proving Washington’s lack of commitment to principles of human rights.

Shamkhani further stressed that Iran will continue to stand by Syria and keep supporting it until the crisis is over in the Middle Eastern state.

Instead of fighting terrorist elements, Western countries and the US take suspicious measures in line with strengthening terrorism and worsening insecurity in the region,” Shamkhani said, warning that the harmful effects of such moves “will lead to the spread of terrorism in the world,” Press TV reported.

Last week, Damascus wrote to the United Nations, calling for the dissolution of a US-led coalition, which has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria for years.

In two letters addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the world body’s Security Council, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates complained that the coalition “continues to commit massacres against Syrian innocent civilians through conducting systematic airstrikes.”

Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov in a Twitter message said that the US’s use of banned phosphorous ammunition in Syria has been proved and while the United States groundlessly accuses Damascus of using chemical weapons, it is the US that actually uses them.

On his Twitter page, Pushkov wrote, “Baselessly accusing Damascus of using chemical weapons, the US themselves use phosphorus ammunition prohibited by international conventions. And this is proved.”

The SANA agency reported that the US-led coalition dropped phosphorous bombs during airstrikes on Raqqa on June 9. According to the agency, at least 17 people were killed.

On April 4, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces backed by the United States blamed the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) for the supposed chemical attack in Khan Shaykhun in Syria's Idlib province, which claimed the lives of 80 people and injured 200 more.

Damascus refuted the claim and called attention to the fact that the nation's entire chemical arsenal had been destroyed under the supervision of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) a few years before.

However, before any investigation into the issue was carried out, the US launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian Arab Army's Shayrat airfield on April 7 as "retaliation" for the alleged use of chemical weapons.

To complicate matters further, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh published a chat protocol of a security advisor and an active US soldier on duty at a key base in the Middle East, which indicated that the US military on the ground "knew" that no chemical attack had taken place in Khan Shaykhun back on April 4.

Damascus accused the US-led coalition of using banned phosphorus bombs and launching airstrikes on residential areas and hospitals, saying that it is a "blatant violation of international law."

Coalition's Phosphorus Bombs' Use 'Blatant Violation of Int'l Law' - Damascus
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708061056234196-damascus-coalition-phosphorus-bombs/

The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent letters to the UN secretary general and the UN Security Council, condemning the coalition's strikes using banned weaponry on civilian infrastructure, while acting in Syria without the country's government consent in violation of UN resolutions.

On Saturday, Syrian state news agency Sana reported citing the deputy head of the local branch of the Red Crescent. that the US-led coalition allegedly struck a Raqqa hospital used exclusively by civilians with banned phosphorus bombs.

"The systematic bombing of residential areas, houses of civilians, the destruction of the Raqqa state hospital and the use of banned white phosphorus by the aircraft of the international coalition are a blatant violation of international law and is among a number of coalition's crimes against the innocent [civilians] in the provinces and cities of Syria," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Moreover, the Syrian Foreign Ministry urged the UNSC to fulfill its responsibilities to preserve peace and security and called on all countries to comply with Security Council resolutions on combating terrorism.

This was not the first time the US-led coalition used banned phosphorus bombs in Raqqa airstrikes. In June, the coalition explained to Sputnik that it used white phosphorus to screen and mark targets in Raqqa during the operation to liberate the Syrian city from Daesh. The US-led coalition claims it uses phosphorus ammunition in Syria in accordance with international norms, taking precautions concerning civilians' presence. The Human Rights Watch has repeatedly criticized used of phosphorus bombs.

White phosphorus munitions were formally prohibited by a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims, banning weapons that "cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering."

According to the Syrian state media, in less than a week more than 50 civilians were killed in the coalition's bombings.

On Friday, Sana news agency reported that coalition warplanes struck Raqqa leaving a woman and 7 children dead.

The same day, the US-led coalition updated the number civilian casualties in its anti-Daesh operation in Syria and Iraq that has risen to 624 people since the start of the campaign.

Last week, Sana news agency reported several times that civilians were killed in US-led coalition's strikes in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor.

The US-led coalition of 68 nations has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh terrorist group in Syria and Iraq since 2014. The strikes in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.

 

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The United Nations said more than 200 Yemeni children have lost their lives and hundreds more sustained injuries in Saudi-led strikes since the beginning of the current year as Riyadh continues its aerial campaign against its crisis-hit southern neighbor.

UN: Over 200 Children Killed in Saudi-Led Strikes in Yemen in 2017
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960516001514

“In 2017, 201 children killed in Yemen: 152 boys and 49 girls,” the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Resident Representative in Yemen, Meritxell Relano, wrote in a Twitter post on Monday, presstv reported.

She said 347 Yemeni children, including 113 girls, have been maimed as a result of the Yemeni conflict, and that 377 boys have been recruited in the ongoing fighting there this year.

Relano’s statements came three days after at least 12 civilians, including children, were killed in Saudi aerial attacks Yemen's northwestern province of Sa'ada.

The head of the local health department, Dr. Abdel-Ilah al-Azzi, said the attack on Friday dawn targeted the family home of Taha al-Dharafi in Mahda district on the southwestern outskirts of Sa’ada city, located 240 kilometers north of the capital Sana'a, and left three women and six children dead, and three others injured.

The UNICEF resident representative in Yemen said four girls and two boys aged between 2 and 14 years were killed in the airstrike, but stopped short of condemning Saudi Arabia for the attack. Earlier this year, UNICEF announced that at least 1,546 children had been killed and 2,450 others injured in the Yemen conflict.

Relano said on January 11 that some 2,000 schools across Yemen can no longer be used because they have been damaged, destroyed or are used as shelters or for military purposes.

The senior UN official called on all parties in the conflict to stop attacks on schools and protect children.

"Schools have to be zones of peace at all times, a sanctuary where children can learn, grow, play and be safe," Relano said. "Children should never risk their lives only to attend school."

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in an attempt to reinstate former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh, and to undermine the Ansarullah movement. The Riyadh regime has, however, failed to reach its goals despite suffering great expenses.

The military aggression has claimed the lives of more than 14,300 people, mostly civilians.

Almost 50 civilians were killed or wounded in the US airstrikes and heavy fire of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Raqqa city.

Tens of Civilians Killed, Injured in US-Led Coalition Attacks in Northeastern Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960517000422

The US fighter jets and the SDF artillery and missile units targeted Raqqa city, killing 18 civilians and injuring 30 more.

Deputy Head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent reported on Saturday that the US-led coalition warplanes targeted a state and a children's hospital in the Eastern city of Raqqa with phosphorous bombs, killing at least 30 civilians.

Dina al-Assad reported that the warplanes carried out 20 combat sorties and targeted the hospital's power generators, vehicles and wards.

She further said that the hospital was rendering medical services to over 100,000 population of Raqqa city, adding that ISIL was not present at all at the hospital.

In the meantime, Head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Fowaz al-Asaf announced that over 65 government facilities, including sugar company, were destroyed in the offensive of the US warplanes and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Raqqa.

Field sources reported that 30 civilians were killed and several more were wounded in the phosphorus bomb attacks on the state and children's hospitals in Raqqa.

US forces attacked an Iraqi military base affiliated to the country’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), killing and wounding tens of troops.

Tens of Iraqi Popular Fighters Killed by US Forces
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960517000256

According to a statement released by the Sayaed al-Shuhada brigades on their website on Monday, their base was targeted by US artillery fire and smart bombs.

In the statement, the brigades called on the Iraqi government to launch an extensive investigation into the incident, while noting that the US’ actions will not remain unanswered.

Last November, the Iraqi Parliament approved a law giving full legal status to Hashd al-Shaabi fighters. It recognized the PMU as part of the national armed forces, placed the volunteer fighters under the command of the Prime Minister, and granted them the right to receive salaries and pensions like the regular army and police forces. The Hashd al-Shaabi forces are now actively cooperating with Iraqi Army troops in military operations to rid the whole country of ISIL militants.

Also in mid-June, a Syrian fighter jet engaged in operations against the ISIL in Raqqa was downed by the US-led coalition warplane.

It was not the first time that the US-led intervention in Syria has led to standoffs and violence against pro-government forces.

As Washington claims that it fights against the ISIL group, US warships fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from two warships in the Mediterranean Sea at the Shayrat airfield in Homs province on April 7, following a chemical weapons incident in Idlib province which the Western countries blamed on the Damascus government.

The Syrian government has fiercely denied using or even possessing chemical weapons since the country’s compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention was certified by international observers in 2013, as the world is still waiting for the US and its allies to provide any proof for its claims of Bashar al-Assad government involvement in the alleged chemical attack.

Also on May 18, the US-led coalition struck pro-Bashar Assad forces near al-Tanf in the area of an established de-confliction zone. The coalition air raids occurred near al-Tanf, where US' and British special operations forces have been training militants near the border with Iraq and Jordan.

On June 6, the Pentagon announced the coalition conducted a new strike on pro-Syrian government forces as they entered the de-confliction zone with Russia and posed threat to its personnel. The force comprised of a tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, armed technical vehicles and more than 60 soldiers. At least two Syrian servicemen were killed and more than 15 injured as a result of the attack.

On June 8, the US-led coalition bombed pro-Damascus forces near al-Tanf in the area of a de-confliction zone following an alleged attack by a combat drone resulting in no coalition forces' casualties. This was the third attack by the coalition on Damascus' allies in the area. The coalition targeted a drone and trucks with weapons.

Furthermore, on September 16, US-led coalition aircraft carried out four strikes against the Syrian Army near the Deir Ezzur airport, killing nearly 100 people.

A senior commander of Hashd al-Shaabi announced that the US attack against the Iraqi popular forces which killed tens of Shiite fighters was planned action.

Commander: US Strikes on Iraqi Popular Forces Intentional
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960517001345

"The US first threatened Hashd al-Shaabi forces and then acted against them and it is now claiming that the ISIL has launched the strike, for the fear of the public opinion in Iraq, the US and the world," Karim al-Nouri told al-Mayadeen news channel on Tuesday.

He said that the US had threatened the Iraqi popular forces in al-Tanf region before.

Stressing that the US has intentionally targeted the Hashd al-Shaabi forces, al-Nouri underlined that it is impossible for the American army to have mistakenly targeted the Iraqi troops as the US is in possession of different state-of-the-art radars and other equipment.

Dozens of Hashd al-Shaabi forces were killed by US shelling near Iraq’s border with Syria, the group said Tuesday.

In a statement, the Sayed al-Shuhada Brigade said the US artillery attack would “not go unpunished”, and called on the Iraqi government to launch an investigation.

A source within the brigade, a faction of the Hashd al-Shaabi, said a convoy of its fighters was targeted inside Southern Syria across the border from al-Rutba district in Iraq’s Anbar province. “At least 36 fighters were killed and 80 others injured in the attack,” the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

The bodies of those killed in the strike arrived at Baghdad airport late Monday, the source added.

 

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Thirty civilians were killed and tens of others were wounded in the US-led coalition air raids and in heavy artillery fire of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the ISIL-held city of Raqqa.

More Civilians Die in US Airstrike, SDF's Heavy Fire in Northeastern Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960528000786

Residential areas in the neighborhoods of Ferdows, al-Badou, al-Thakan, al-Rashid and al-Hana came under heavy attack by the US fighter jets and SDF's artillery units, leaving 8 civilians, including children and women, dead and 12 more wounded.

The coalitions air and artillery attacks also hit the streets of al-Basel, al-Kanisah and Tal Abyadh in Raqqa and part of the train station near the city, leaving 16 civilians dead and 7 more wounded.

In the meantime, a six-member family was killed in the collation attacks.

Relevant reports said on Thursday that the US fighter jets targeted the two districts of al-Wahdah, al-Nahzah and al-Badou in Raqqa city on Wednesday,
killing 14 civilians, including several children, and injuring 74 others.

Meantime, the coalition warplanes fully destroyed Sayedah Basharah church in al-Saknah district in Raqqa city.

Also, 1 civilian was killed and a number of others were wounded in the attacks launched by the US-backed SDF snipers.

Also, the US-led coalition fighter jets bombed residential areas in the Northeastern city of Raqqa on Monday, killing and wounding over 15 civilians.

Ten civilians were killed and five more were injured in a US air attack on residential neighborhoods of the ISIL-held city of Raqqa.

 

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The US air forces have once again waged an airstrike in Afghanistan, leaving victims and injuries, local media reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources.

At Least 28 Civilians Killed in US Airstrike in Afghanistan - Reports
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201708301056920347-afghanistan-logar-us-airstrike/

At least 28 civilians, including women and children, were killed in an US airstrike in Afghanistan's eastern province of Logar, local media reported on Wednesday.

According to the Pajhwok news agency, the airstrike hit a residential building in the province's city of Pol-e Alam.

The information on the airstrike was confirmed by a spokesman of the province's governor, according to the outlet.

What regards Us reaction, US Forces-Afghanistan said in a press release that it is aware of an incident potentially involving civilian casualties in the Pol-e Alam District of Logar Province.

US Forces-Afghanistan is aware of an incident in the Pul-e 'Alam District in Logar Province this morning with potential civilian casualties," the release stated.

An official investigation into the incident is now underway, and US forces in Afghanistan are working with Afghan partners to determine the facts surrounding the incident, the release said.

President Donald Trump set out his Afghan policy on August 21, saying US troops would "fight to win." He said there was no deadline and refused to disclose how many personnel would stay behind. Moreover, on January 1, 2015, NATO announced its new mission in the country, called Resolute Support, to train and assist the Afghan security forces.

The US-led coalition refuted the information that it had targeted a convoy with Daesh terrorists on the Syrian-Lebanon border. Daesh's evacuation from the area is part of its temporary truce deal with the Hezbollah movement that had been conducting a major anti-terrorist operation in the region.

US-Led Coalition Denies Strikes on Daesh Convoy on Syria-Lebanon Border
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201708301056932512-coalition-us-syria-lebanon-daesh-convoy/

The US-led coalition did not strike a Daesh terrorist group convoy fleeing Lebanon but did strike the road upon which they were traveling along with individual vehicles and fighters, Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve said in a press release.

The Coalition has not struck the convoy. In accordance with the law of armed conflict, the Coalition cratered the road heading east between Hamaymah and Abul Kamal to prevent the further transport of ISIS [Daesh] fighters to the border area of our Iraqi partners and struck individual vehicles and fighters that were clearly identified as ISIS," the release said.

The coalition said it is not aparty to any agreement between Lebanon's Hezbollah, Damascus and Daesh.

On Sunday, the Lebanese army and Hezbollah declared a ceasefire to hold negotiations with Daesh terrorists. The terrorists agreed to return the remains of eight Lebanese soldiers abducted in 2014, as well as the bodies of Shiite militia fighters. In return, the Syrian side agreed to allow the evacuation of Daesh terrorists to Abu-Kamal city in the country's northeastern Deir ez-Zor province. Both the Lebanese military and Hezbollah said they believe that Daesh's evacuation indicated their surrender.

Hezbollah, along with the Syrian army, has been conducting operations against Daesh on the Syrian side of the border. The operation resulted in significant advance of Lebanese and Syrian troops in the region and severe losses of Daesh.

On Sunday, the Syrian army and Hezbollah Shiite fighters announced that they had completely freed the Syrian mountainous region of western Qalamoun on the border with Lebanon from Daesh.

Nearly 40 civilians were killed or wounded in landmine blasts in Southern Hasaka, local sources reported Wednesday

Tens of Civilians Killed, Injured Fleeing ISIL-Held Regions in Northeastern Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960608001353

The sources said that a number of civilians that had fled ISIL-held terrorists in Deir Ezzur were trapped in a vast landmine field planted by the ISIL in Abu Khashab region in the Southern territories of Hasaka province.

They added that 10 civilians were killed and 28 more were wounded in the blasts.

In relevant developments in the province a number of civilians were killed in the US-led fighter jets' attacks on regions in the Southern parts of Hasaka.

The US warplanes pounded the village of Kashkash in the Southern parts of al-Shadadi city in Southern Hasaka, killing 6 civilians, including 2 women.

The US-led collation fighter jets bombed again several residential areas in the ISIL-held city of Raqqa, killing and wounding a number of civilians, field sources confirmed on Wednesday

More Civilians Killed in US Air Raids in Northeastern Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960608000842

The sources said that eights civilians were killed and several more were wounded in the US warplanes' raids on Raqqa neighborhoods.

The sources further said that death toll is likely to increase due to the critical conditions of some of those injured in the air assault.

It came only a day after 10 civilians, including six men and four women, lost their lives in US-led air attacks against residential neighborhoods of Raqqa.

Relevant reports said earlier this month that residential areas in the neighborhoods of Ferdows, al-Badou, al-Thakan, al-Rashid and al-Hana came under heavy attack by the US fighter jets and SDF's artillery units, leaving 8 civilians, including children and women, dead and 12 more wounded.

The coalitions air and artillery attacks also hit the streets of al-Basel, al-Kanisah and Tal Abyadh in Raqqa and part of the train station near the city, leaving 16 civilians dead and 7 more wounded.

In the meantime, a six-member family was killed in the collation attacks.

Saudi warplanes reportedly bombed a checkpoint near Yemen’s capital of Sana’a, killing at least seven people, mostly civilians.

Saudi Warplanes Hit Checkpoint Outside Sana’a, Kill Seven
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960608000663

Residents said the strike, which targeted the security checkpoint in the Bani Matar District in Sana’a Province, presstv reported.

The checkpoint was being manned by Yemen’s popular Ansarullah movement, which has been running state affairs and defending the nation against the Saudi war.

Witnesses said the fatalities included five civilians in a taxi and two armed personnel manning the site.

The strike made the taxi careen into a nearby gas station, setting it alight and complicating rescue operations, they added.

Earlier reports said an oil tanker had been hit by the air raid.

 

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NATO Airstrike Kills Civilians in Eastern Afghanistan
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960614001394

The airstrike hit the province's Qarabagh district, after the guests at the ceremony started firing shots into the air, celebrating the wedding, the TOLO news broadcaster reported, citing local authorities.

The NATO forces reportedly mistook the gunfire for an attack against them and bombed the area in retaliatory fire.

Qarabagh’s district governor Abdul Sami Sharifi confirmed to the broadcaster that the bombing left two people dead and three others injured.

More than 22 civilians were killed and several more were wounded in the US-led collation warplanes' raids, including a case of poisonous-gas attack, in ISIL-held Raqqa city, media activists reported Tuesday.

US Air Force' Gas Attack Kills More Civilians in Northeastern Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960614000507

The Arabic-language al-Hadath news quoted media activists as saying that the coalition's fighter jets targeted al-Na'eim square, al-Atiq Grand Mosque and the neighborhoods of al-Badou and al-Ramileh in Raqqa city, killing over 22 civilians and wounding several more.

The sources told al-Hadath that a case of poisonous-gas attack was reported in areas near al-Na'eim square, increasing civilian death toll.

Relevant reports said on Monday that a sum of 11 civilians was killed and several more were wounded in the US-led coalition air raids in the ISIL-held city of Raqqa.

The US-led coalition fighter jets pounded several districts in Raqqa city, killing 11 civilians, including women and children.

The death toll might rise due to the critical condition of some of the injured.

 

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The US-Led coalition has conducted airstrikes using white phosphorus munitions in a village in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province, killing several people, the SANA news agency and state-run TV reported on Wednesday.

Int'l Coalition Hits Deir ez-Zor With White Phosphorus - Syrian State TV
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201709271057739734-us-led-coalition-deir-ez-zor-white-phosphorus/

According to SANA, at least three civilians were killed and five more injured in an airstrike in the south-eastern al-Suwar district in the province. The strike has also damaged public and private buildings in the area.

This is the just latest case of civilian casualties as a result of US-coalition air raids in Syria.

On Monday, coalition's airstrikes left nine civilians dead in the northeastern province Hasaka. Those killed included an Iraqi family of six that had escaped Daesh violence in Mosul, according to SANA. Citing sources, the agency added that the coalition had also launched airstrikes on the villages Hadaj, Huneidis and Hassan Ali near the Iraqi border, which has resulted in "huge material damage." On September 17, SANA said the coalition's warplanes left at least 12 civilians dead near the city of Deir ez-Zor.

The coalition admitted in August that "at least 624 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve" against Daesh in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Over 700 bodies have been found in mass graves near Deir ez-Zor in Syria. A special commission will soon begin identifying the remains. A source told Sputnik that the bodies of those killed in US-led coalition airstrikes may be in the mass graves discovered.

Mass Graves Near Deir ez-Zor May Hold Victims of US-Led Coalition Airstrikes
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201709121057308148-syria-deir-ez-zor-mass-graves/

An independent forensic commission has been established in Syria to identify the bodies found in mass graves near the city of Deir ez-Zor.

The graves were found in the area of al Shaitat to the west of the city, near the village of Abu Hamam and according to a medical source contained the bodies of women and children.

"Measures are currently being taken to preserve the remains before an independent commission starts working. Its experts are expected to determine the cause of death of those people. There are numerous pieces of evidence that the airstrikes by the [United States-led] international coalition may have resulted in mass civilian casualties in the area," the source told Sputnik Arabic.

Moreover, the source suggested that more mass graves are likely to be found across the province of Deir ez-Zor in the near future. During the course of the Syrian conflict, mass graves have been discovered in every area that was controlled by terrorists.

According to expert estimates, the recently discovered graves are more than one year old. So far, 40 of the 750 bodies found have been identified. A total of 2,000 were killed in airstrikes and Daesh attacks in the area.

Last week, the Syrian Army broke the blockade to the west of Deir ez-Zor. On Saturday, the Syrian military supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces broke the siege of a nearby airfield, which had kept more than 1,000 Syrian troops locked in since January. The operation to liberate the rest of the province from the terrorists is still underway.

The victory was the biggest breakthrough against Daesh since the terrorist group first launched an offensive in the province. The terrorists had been blockading Deir ez-Zor since 2014, with food and other supplies only being airlifted into the city. The group also took control over a large swath of the province of Deir ez-Zor and cut off roads to government-held districts.

 

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12 Civilians killed in the US-led coalition raids in the Syrian province of Deir Ez Zour
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/10/12-killed-in-us-led-coalition-raids-in.html

At least 12 civilians, majority of them being women and children, were killed yesterday after jets of the so-called “anti-ISIS” international coalition bombed residential areas in the village of Buqrus Fouqani and the town of Abu Kamal, located in the eastern countryside of the Syrian province of Deir Ez Zour.

According to the sources from the eastern countryside of Deir Ez Zour province, the coalition airstrikes hit Al Kitf Street, the siloses, the surroundings of Al Shafiei Mosque and Al Masiriyeh roundabout in the town of Abu Kamal, leaving at least five people dead.

Later, at least seven civilians, a newborn baby including, were killed after coalition jets raided the village of Buqrus Fouqani.

10 people were also injured in both raids, in addition to the damage being caused to the public and private properties.

Jets of the so-called “anti-ISIS” international coalition are frequently carrying out raids on the Syrian soil without the approval from authorities in Damascus or the UN Security Council.

On Wednesday, the coalition jets dropped bombs containing the internationally banned white phosphorus while raiding the town of Al Suwar in Deir Ez Zour countryside, killing three civilians and injuring five others.

A day earlier, the coalition jets carried out a massacre in the town of Markada, located south of the city of Hasakeh in northeastern Syria, killing three civilians, including two women, belonging to an Iraqi family of refugees from Mosul.

The US-led International “anti-ISIS” coalition forces continue to commit their war crimes against the Syrian civilians.

US Air Force kills 45 civilians in the Syrian city of Raqqah
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/10/us-air-force-kills-45-civilians-in.html

On Monday, 45 civilians were killed after US Air Force jets struck Al Twasu’ayia neighborhood in the city of Raqqah.

Although the coalition forces claim to have attacked ISIS positions in the city, they actually targeted two residential buildings in Al Twasu’ayia neighborhood, killing at least 45 civilians and injuring dozens more, in addition to causing massive material damage to public and private properties.

It is noteworthy that these attacks coincide with advancements, recently made by the Syrian Army.

On Sunday, the coalition forces attacked civilians in the village of Buqrus Fouqani and the town of Abu Kamal, both located in the eastern countryside of Deir Ez Zour province. 12 civilians, majority of them being women and children, were killed in those raids.

The coalition jets also continue their series of attacks against civilians in the area of ​​ Jazeera in northern Syria where last month several crimes against civilians were documented, in addition targeting a school in the city of Raqqah which housed dozens of refugee families from the eastern countryside of Deir Ez Zour who fled ISIS terror.

On Wednesday, the coalition jets dropped bombs containing the internationally banned white phosphorus while raiding the town of Al Suwar in Deir Ez Zour countryside, killing three civilians and injuring five others.

The so-called international “anti ISIS” coalition is led by Washington and conducts its actions within the Syrian territory without the approval of the UN Security Council or the Syrian government, and repeatedly continues to bomb the civilian areas.

Just last month, the coalition jets struck the civilian homes in Badou neighborhood of Raqqah and raided the village of Shabaab in Deir Ez Zour countryside, killing 11 civilians, all of them from the same household.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has so far urged the UN Security Council and the United Nations to put an end to this bloodshed multiple times, although to no avail.

At least 6 Hezbollah fighters were killed after the US Air Force reportedly bombed their positions in Palmyra countryside in central Syria.

Hezbollah fighters get killed by US Air Force amid their anti-ISIS campaign in Palmyra countryside
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/10/hezbollah-fighters-get-killed-by-us-air.html

The incident occurred when the US Air Force bombed ISIS positions next to T3 Pumping station in Palmyra, however, its airstrikes also hit the nearby position of Hezbollah units, killing 6 of their fighters who were thwarting an ISIS assault.

The US Army, however, denied the claims. Its spokesman for the Syria operations, Ryan Dillon, said on his Twitter account that the US forces only direct their strikes against ISIS terrorists in the Syrian provinces of Deir Ez Zour and Raaqah, and the areas east of Euphrates.

It is noteworthy that in the past, US Air Force targeted positions of Syrian Army and its allies on multiple occasions, especially in times of their huge military gains.

The Lebanese movement Hezbollah fights alongside the Syrian Army and has played a rather important role in combating ISIS and other terrorist groups.

A Turkey-backed militant commander in northern Syria has been arrested after a sex tape emerged of him raping a teenage girl.

Former US-backed militant commander filmed raping teenage girl in northern Syria
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/10/breaking-militant-commander-filmed.html

The Ahrar al-Sharqiya commander, identified as Abu Khalid al-Sharqiya, was arrested after a sex tape emerged of him raping a 13 or 14 year old girl in the northern Aleppo countryside town of Jarabulus.

The commander claims that the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) planted the camera in his home despite the fact that the video took placed in Jarabulus where the Kurdish militia have no presence.

Jarabulus was captured from ISIS by the Turkish military and their proxy jihadist forces on 24 August 2016.

The Ahrar al-Sharqiya militant group for a long period for the duration of the Syrian war was backed by the United States.