At least 30 civilians were killed Wednesday in separate bombing raids by the US-led coalition and pro-regime warplanes on jihadist-held territory in Syria, a monitor said. Fifteen of the victims died in coalition air strikes on a village near the Islamic State group's stronghold of Raqa, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "The strikes this morning hit the village of Zur Shammar, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Raqa on the southern banks of the Euphrates River," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
"The victims included three children and four women," he added. The US-led coalition is providing air support to Arab and Kurdish fighters battling to oust IS from Raqa and the wider province. To the southeast, Syrian government forces backed by their Russian allies are fighting IS in the oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor. Suspected Russian air strikes on Wednesday killed another 15 civilians - mostly children - in an IS-held village in that province, the Observatory said.