53 killed by Russian airstrikes in Deir Al Zour

MENA

Published: 2017-11-27 09:58

Last Updated: 2024-03-27 19:12


A Russian bomber over Syria (handout)
A Russian bomber over Syria (handout)

At least 53 people have been killed by Russian airstrikes on a village in Deir Al Zour province on Sunday, a monitoring groups says.

The attack on the village of Al Shafah, in one of the last provinces where so-called Islamic State holds territory, killed 21 children, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Russia’s defence ministry confirmed that six long-range bombers had carried out operations in Deir Al Zour but had only targeted Islamic State “terrorist strongholds”.

Although SOHR initially reported the death count as 34, the monitoring group’s head told the AFP that he now believed the figure was higher.

"The toll increased after removing the debris in a long day of rescue operation," Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Separately on Sunday, 23 people were killed in a push by the Syrian government and allied forces to retake the last major rebel enclave near Damascus, SOHR reported.

The group said at least 127 people, including 30 children, have been killed since the Syrian army started the campaign in Eastern Ghouta two weeks ago.

UN-backed peace talks are expected to resume in Geneva next week but multiple previous rounds have failed to produce meaningful progress.