US-led strikes kill 224 civilians since allies entered Raqa

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US-led coalition airstrikes have killed at least 224 civilians since the Syrian forces it backs entered ISIL bastion Raqa a month ago, a monitor said on Thursday.

But the coalition pushed back against the report, saying its "critics" were not conducting "detailed assessments."

Arab and Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) broke into Raqa on June 6 after a months-long operation to encircle the northern city.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) run across a street in Raqa, Syria on July 3, 2017. /VCG Photo

"At least 224 civilians, including 38 children and 28 women, have been killed in air strikes by the global coalition on Raqa since the SDF entered it," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based Observatory said it did not have a toll for those killed in other ways, including by other military operations, mines, or while trying to flee the city.

Tens of thousands of civilians are believed to be trapped inside Raqa, with warnings that the jihadists are using them as human shields.

Raqa residents who have managed to escape say ISIL snipers are targeting anyone trying to leave the city.

A Syrian woman carries her child at a temporary refugee camp in the village of Ain Issa, housing people who fled Raqa on November 10, 2016. /VCG Photo

The Raqa is Being Slaughtered Silently activist collective says dozens of civilians have lost their lives in artillery, shelling, and explosives laid by ISIL in recent weeks.

The US-backed coalition is providing the SDF's Raqa campaign with heavy air support, as well as special forces advisers, weapons, and equipment.

Its spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon pushed back against the Observatory's toll.

Fighters from the Syriac Military Council (SMC) rest in a damaged building in the suburb of al-Rumaniya on the western outskirts of Raqa onJune 27, 2017. /VCG Photo

"We hold ourselves accountable with an open and transparent process to assess allegations of civilian casualties, and we publish these findings on a regular basis for the world to see," he said. "Most of our critics do not conduct such detailed assessments and often rely on scant information, which frequently comes from single, unreliable sources."

He said the coalition strived for "zero human casualties" with tough targeting protocols aimed at protecting non-combatants.

Since ISIL captured Raqa in early 2014, it has served as the de facto capital of the jihadist group's Syrian territory.

(Source: AFP)

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