Syrian air raid kills 13 children in Deir Az-Zour

Regime or Russian war planes bombed an Islamic State group-held district in Deir Az-Zour killing 30 people including 13 children.

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The New Arab & agencies

22 Jan, 2016

Rebel held territories - such as Douma - have also been subject to bombings [AFP]

At least 30 civilians, including 13 children, were killed in air raids in eastern Syria on Friday, a monitoring group said.

It was unclear if the raids in Deir Az-Zour province, mostly controlled by the Islamic State group [IS], were carried out by the Russian or regime warplanes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The monitor said eight women were among those killed in the strikes on Tabiyyah Jazeera, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Deir Az-Zour city, the provincial capital.

It added that dozens of people were wounded and the toll was expected to rise.

The strikes come as the regime battles the extremist group, who launched a major assault on Deir Az-Zour over the weekend.

The fighting has killed at least 439 people since Saturday, according to the Observatory, including combatants who died in strikes or clashes, and civilians murdered by IS.

While IS holds most of the eastern province, the regime has clung onto parts of the provincial capital, as well as the nearby military airport.

But with its multi-front assault, IS now controls 60 percent of the city, and has tightened a siege of the roughly 200,000 people trapped inside it.