Syrian state media and opposition activists are reporting that airstrikes on the northern city of Raqqa have killed dozens of civilians. U.S.-backed Syrian opposition fighters have been trying to capture the city from the IS group since June 6, and have been marching under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces now holds more than half of Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday that airstrikes on Raqqa the day before killed 42 civilians including 19 children and 12 women. The activist-run group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently said 32 people were killed in airstrikes on one neighborhood alone. Syrian state media said the airstrikes killed dozens. They all blamed the U.S.-led coalition.
