Tel Aviv, Israel. News sources in Israel following up on breaking news News Front reported earlier, now say the death toll in new US attacks on Syria has climbed to 21.
American military led coalition aircraft struck two locations in northern Syria on Saturday, killing at least 21 people, including a woman and her six children who were on a boat fleeing clashes between the Islamic State group and US-backed fighters, activist groups reported.
Activist groups that operate in ISIS-held territory and are opposed to the militants have reported increasing numbers of civilian deaths from US military airstrikes in recent weeks. The USA is providing support to a Syrian Kurdish-led force that is on the offensive against the extremist group.
Thousands of people in areas held by ISIS are trying to flee the violence as preparations are underway to capture the northern city of Raqqa, the extremists’ de facto capital. Local observers and residents have said the militants are forcing civilians to stay in order to use them as human shields once the offensive on Raqqa begins.
Leaflets dropped by American warplanes in recent weeks gave confusing directions one suggests areas closer to the Euphrates River are safer, but another warns that boats crossing the river will be struck, resulting in mass confusion and multiple deaths of local residents.