An airstrike killed eight family members, five of them children, as they fled fighting between US-allied Syrian forces and Islamic State militants on Monday, according to local activists
Civilians are fleeing as SDF inch closer to IS-held territory in Syria [AFP file photo]
An airstrike killed eight family members, five of them children, as they fled fighting between US-allied Syrian forces and Islamic State militants on Monday, according to local activists, who said the strike appeared to have been launched by the US-led coalition.
The family was fleeing fighting in the northern Syrian town of Tabqa when their vehicle was struck, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said the five children were between six months and 15 years old.
The activist-run Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently also reported the airstrike, saying a family was killed, giving a higher death toll of 17.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which also include Arab fighters, are trying to expel IS from Tabqa before moving on to Raqqa, the de facto capital of the jihadi group. Tabqa is 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Raqqa.