23 killed in air strikes
The toll in air strikes thought to have been conducted by a US-led coalition on a jihadist-held northern Syrian village yesterday has risen to 23 civilians killed, a monitor said.
"The raids hit the village of Al-Matab after midnight and were likely carried out by the coalition," said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Observatory earlier reported a toll of 14 people killed. At least eight children and six women were among the dead in Al-Matab, held by the Islamic State group.
The village lies near a key road linking Raqa -- IS's de facto capital -- to Deir Ezzor city, the capital of the adjacent oil-rich province.
On Monday, fighters from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces cut off that route in a bid to encircle the jihadists in Raqa.
The US-led coalition has been backing the SDF's drive for Raqa with air power and hundreds of special operations forces as advisers.
Abdel Rahman said SDF fighters advancing on IS jihadists in Al-Matab, which lies about 55 kilometres (35 miles) southeast of Raqa, reported AFP.
Meanwhile, a US Marines artillery unit has been deployed to Syria in recent days to help local forces speed up efforts to defeat Islamic State at Raqqa and the campaign to isolate the city is going "very, very well", the US-led coalition said yesterday.
Coalition spokesman US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian said the additional US forces would be working with local partners in Syria - the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Arab Coalition - and would not have a front line role, reported Reuters.
The artillery will help "expedite the defeat of ISIS in Raqqa", he said, using another acronym for Islamic State.
The additional deployment comprises a total of 400 US forces - both Marines and Army Rangers. It adds to around 500 US military personnel already in Syria, Dorrian said.
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