Syria air raids kill 20 Islamic State jihadists

Twenty members of the Islamic State (IS) were killed in Syrian air force raids on Wednesday against the jihadists' bastion in Raqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The report comes after Syrian rebels killed at least 14 people overnight, among them women, in the village of Khatab in central province of Hama, state media and the Observatory said.
"At least 20 members of IS were killed and others were injured in air strikes... targeting an IS training base in Raqa," said the Observatory. The strikes also destroyed 14 of IS' military vehicles, the Observatory added. On June 29, IS declared the establishment of a "caliphate", referring to an Islamic system of rule that was abolished nearly 100 years ago. Its jihadists are firmly in control of Raqa, their stronghold, and have secured large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and in neighbouring Iraq.