Syrian forces launch strikes on Islamic State
Activists say government rockets hit a crowded bakery in a northern city ruled by the extremist group.
At least 29 dead »
Syrian strikes on Islamic State stronghold kill 29
By DIAA HADID
10 hours ago
Associated Press Videos
Raw: Aftermath of Airstrikes in Syria
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria launched a series of airstrikes targeting
a stronghold of the Islamic State extremist group on Saturday, killing
at least 29 people, most of whom died when one of the missiles slammed
into a crowded bakery, activists said.
The eight airstrikes smashed parts of buildings,
set cars alight and crushed people under rubble in the northeastern city
of Raqqa, which is ruled by the extremist group, according to video of
the aftermath uploaded to social media networks.
Another group, the Raqqa Media Center, uploaded video of the aftermath, which appeared to be genuine and was consistent with AP reporting of the event.
Abu Ibrahim said the local morgue was packed with charred bodies, making identification difficult. He and the Observatory said at least eight members of one family were killed.
The Syrian government strikes were part of an uptick of military action against the Islamic State group since it swept into neighboring Iraq, seizing northern and western swaths of that country and declaring a proto-state straddling the border.
Syrian President Bashar Assad's government has also suffered heavy losses against the Islamic State group, which killed hundreds of soldiers and pro-government fighters in recent months as it overran oil fields and military bases. There was no immediate government comment on the airstrikes.
In a separate incident, a Syrian military helicopter dropped a barrel bomb on a bus station in a rebel-held neighborhood of the northern city of Aleppo on Friday, killing at least 15 people, according to the Observatory and Aleppo-based activist Zein al-Rifai.
Al-Rifai and the Observatory said residents were still pulling out bodies from under the rubble on Saturday.
It wasn't immediately clear why the station, in the otherwise largely-abandoned, bombed-out neighborhood of Haydariyeh was targeted.
At
least 20 civilians were killed, alongside nine Islamic State fighters,
said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Most of the
civilians were killed after at least one strike hit the Andalous bakery
on a busy street, and the death toll was likely to rise, said the
Observatory, which obtains its information from a network of activists
on the ground.
The airstrikes were also reported by an activist
who uses the name Abu Ibrahim and is a member of a media collective
called "Raqqa is being silently slaughtered." He fled Syria fearing for
his safety and asked that his current place of residence remain
anonymous.Another group, the Raqqa Media Center, uploaded video of the aftermath, which appeared to be genuine and was consistent with AP reporting of the event.
Abu Ibrahim said the local morgue was packed with charred bodies, making identification difficult. He and the Observatory said at least eight members of one family were killed.
Other strikes hit a
government finance building that the Islamic State used as its
headquarters and another building used as a jail, Abu Ibrahim said.
It
has been virtually impossible for journalists to visit Raqqa, a city of
some 500,000 people on the banks of the Euphrates River, since the town
fell to the Islamic State group earlier this year. The group routinely
abducts reporters and recently beheaded two American journalists in
response to U.S. airstrikes against the militants in Iraq.The Syrian government strikes were part of an uptick of military action against the Islamic State group since it swept into neighboring Iraq, seizing northern and western swaths of that country and declaring a proto-state straddling the border.
Syrian President Bashar Assad's government has also suffered heavy losses against the Islamic State group, which killed hundreds of soldiers and pro-government fighters in recent months as it overran oil fields and military bases. There was no immediate government comment on the airstrikes.
In a separate incident, a Syrian military helicopter dropped a barrel bomb on a bus station in a rebel-held neighborhood of the northern city of Aleppo on Friday, killing at least 15 people, according to the Observatory and Aleppo-based activist Zein al-Rifai.
Al-Rifai and the Observatory said residents were still pulling out bodies from under the rubble on Saturday.
It wasn't immediately clear why the station, in the otherwise largely-abandoned, bombed-out neighborhood of Haydariyeh was targeted.
The
government has carried out hundreds of raids in which it has dropped
explosives-filled barrels on Aleppo in a bid to flush rebels out of
Syria's second largest city and onetime commercial hub.
Activists
say the so-called barrel bombs have killed thousands of civilians, and
international rights groups have condemned the tactic, saying the bombs
cannot be precisely targeted.
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