33 civilians die in US-led air strike in north Syria

A US-led coalition strike is reported to have killed 33 civilians in northern Syria ahead of a meeting of top officials in Washington focused on defeating the Islamic State group.

Rebels and jihadists pressed offensives inside the capital Damascus and the central province of Hama, just a day before new UN-brokered peace talks open in Geneva.

Years of diplomatic efforts have failed to end Syria’s raging six-year conflict, which began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

A suspected coalition strike in the northern province of Raqa early on Tuesday killed 33 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The monitor said yesterday the strike hit a school being used as a temporary shelter for displaced families, about 30km west of the IS-held Raqa city.

“We can now confirm that 33 people were killed, and they were displaced civilians from Raqa, Aleppo and Homs,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

“They’re still pulling bodies out of the rubble. Only two people were pulled out alive.”

A Pentagon spokesman said the coalition would investigate the alleged strike.

“Since we have conducted several strikes near Raqa we will provide this information to our civilian casualty team for investigation,” he said.

The coalition is backing twin offensives to defeat IS in Raqa, the Syrian heart of the group’s so-called caliphate, and Mosul in neighbouring Iraq.

Top officials from the 68-nation alliance were set to meet in Washington to hear more about a revised plan drafted by the Pentagon and presented to US President Donald Trump last month.

Earlier this month, the coalition said its campaign in Syria and Iraq had unintentionally killed at least 220 civilians, but monitors say the real number is far higher.

In addition to bombing raids by the coalition, Russia is carrying out strikes in support of its ally Assad, while Turkey has provided air cover for rebel groups in the north.

This week, rebels and allied jihadists launched two surprise offensives on government positions in Damascus and central Hama province, opposition groups and the Observatory said.