INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Air Raids On Syria Kills ‘Dozens’ Of ISIS Militants, But 63 Civilians Including Children Among Innocent Victims

By Alap Naik Desai
Published on: 22:13 PST, Jan 23, 2016

Air raids on Syria killed “dozens” of ISIS militants. However, the strikes resulted in the death of more than 60 civilians, including women and children, reported a Human Rights monitoring group.

Air strikes on a town in western Syria, believed to have been conducted by Russian warplanes, are responsible for the death of at least 63 civilians apart from ISIS militants, claimed the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Within the last 48 hours, there has been a marked increase in the number of air strikes. The air raids on Khasham near the city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday were just a small part of a much larger offensive, the group added.

To support the pro-government forces that have been trying hard to keep the cities and towns in government-held region from falling into the hands of the ISIS, Russia has been bombing areas around Deir al-Zor. Islamic State fighters have been increasingly surrounding remaining government-held areas of the city since last year and have increased their terror tactics, which include butchering hundreds and kidnapping a number of civilians.

For the past two days, warplanes have been bombarding Islamic State’s de facto capital of Raqqa, reported The Tribune. While scores of ISIS militants are believed to have been killed, the Observatory solemnly added that at least 44 people died in the aerial bombardment. According to The Daily Croton, the number of people who perished in the raids was quite low, but the bombs injured many. Those injured were rushed to the elementary hospitals in the region, but they succumbed to their wounds.

Though it is difficult to confirm, eye witnesses claim it is the Russian warplanes that have been increasingly attacking the positions of the ultra-radical groups in Syria. Since Russia doesn’t share its plans and attack strategies with the U.S. led coalition, it isn’t possible to confirm that the deaths of the ISIS militants and the civilians were the result of Kremlin’s increased offensive in the region.

Incidentally, the America-led coalition, which has been attacking the region under the “Crusader Campaign,” has accepted the grim fact that there will always be a risk of killing a few civilians when taking out ISIS militants and their assets. Recently, a bank, which reportedly belonged to the ISIS, was bombarded. While every bit of precaution was taken to minimize civilian casualties by conducting the raid early in the morning, some civilians did die.

America insists that Russia’s air strikes, which are clearly supporting the official Bashar as-Assad’s Syrian government, have been increasingly targeting other rebel groups in the west of the country, including foreign-backed fighters, reports Reuters. The pro-government forces have claimed they have recaptured the town of Rabiya in the western coastal province of Latakia.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights further added that the forces have managed to retake several areas in and around Syria due to the air strikes conducted by Russia. It appears many of the ground-based attacks are being directed partly by Russian officers. Russia agreed to side with Bashar al-Assad in the month of September last year and has promised to decimate ISIS. However, the country isn’t relying on or accepting any assistance or intelligence from the America-led coalition.

Despite the increased number of air strikes, the Islamic State has proclaimed it is getting stronger. After the recent attack on the region, Islamic State fighters now control majority of the Deir al-Zor region. So far, the civil war that was started by ISIS about six years ago, has led to the death of at least 19,000 according to official figures, but experts claim, thousands more have perished in the brutal attacks and suicide bombings conducted by the militant group. Reports also indicate that the towns are being overrun by hunger, and over 2.5 million have fled the region.

[Photo by Abd Doumany /Getty Images]

Share this article: Air Raids On Syria Kills ‘Dozens’ Of ISIS Militants, But 63 Civilians Including Children Among Innocent Victims
america russia syria
More from Inquisitr