US coalition raid kills 15 civilians in eastern Syria

DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria/ANKARA

Fifteen family members were killed in a U.S.-led coalition airstrike in Syria’s eastern Deir Ez-Zor province, according to local sources.

The attack targeted the town of Keshma late Tuesday near the Daesh-held Shaafa town in the province’s countryside, the sources said.

There was no comment from the U.S.-led coalition on the report.

Meanwhile, the same sources said clashes between the YPG/PKK terrorist group and Daesh terrorists continued in the Hejjin district of Deir Ez-Zor province.

The U.S.-led coalition is providing the YPG/PKK with ground and air support in an effort to expel Daesh terrorists from the area.

With the U.S. help, YPG/PKK terrorists are in control of the eastern Euphrates and rural areas in western and eastern Deir ez-Zor. France also provides the terrorist group with artillery support.

Regime forces, meanwhile, maintains control of the western section of Deir ez-Zor.

As of today, YPG/PKK terrorists occupy some 28 percent of the Syrian land, while Daesh holds around 3 percent.

In October, several mosques were targeted by the U.S.-led coalition in Hejjin, which left dozens of residents dead.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this story from Ankara.