Air strike reportedly kills 30 in East Syria

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an air strike early on Wednesday killed at least 30 civilians and injured dozens more in a village held by Islamic State in eastern Syria.

Beirut, June 29: At least 30 people were killed in air strikes in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province and many were injured. At least 50 people had died and "many" had been injured in the air raids on the outskirts of the provincial capital Deir Ezzor on Wednesday.

The identity of the war planes that carried out the bombardments was not known, the reports said.

Both a U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, and the Syrian military backed by Russia, have targeted the jihadist group in cities and towns along the Euphrates valley.

On Monday a coalition airstrike in al-Mayadeen hit a building used by Islamic State as a prison, killing 57 people, the Observatory said on Tuesday.

Those killed included 42 prisoners and 15 IS militants, the British war monitor said, adding that "in all probability" the air raids were carried out by the US-led international coalition against IS.

The coalition did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether its jets carried out Wednesday's strike in al-Dablan. On Tuesday it said it had hit targets in al-Mayadeen the previous day in a mission "meticulously planned" to avoid harming civilians.

The coalition has been accused repeatedly this year of causing civilian casualties as it targets IS's rapidly shrinking territory in both Syria and Iraq, but US military officials say higher civilian casualties were always expected as the IS militants are increasingly squeezed into shrinking territory.

IANS