Airstrikes conducted by the international anti-ISIS coalition on Raqqa city have killed and injured dozens of civilians and destroyed a church inside the ravaged city, local activists said.
According to Raqqa is being Slaughtered Silently media campaign, at least 17 civilians, including children, were killed in dozens of airstrikes by jets of the International coalition on the ISIS-held parts of the city. The airstrikes also completely destroyed ‘Our Lady of the Annunciation’ church inside the city.
The international coalition has not yet commented on the destruction of the church though it previously admitted that its airstrikes were causing many civilian casualties.
In its latest assessment of civilian casualties from airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, which was published on August 3, the US-led coalition admitted that 624 people have been “unintentionally killed” since the start of the campaign against ISIS in 2014.
Raqqa has been the scene of fierce battles between ISIS and the SDF militia who are being backed by aerial cover from the international coalition to dislodge the extremist group from its de facto capital in Syria which it captured in late 2013. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)