Hundreds of civilians killed in air strikes, group says

BEIRUT — U.S.-led coalition air strikes in the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria are killing hundreds of civilians each month, according to monitoring groups, deepening already grave concerns for thousands of families trapped inside the city.

At least 725 civilians have been killed in coalition air strikes since the offensive to retake Raqqa began June 6, according to Airwars, a London-based monitoring organization that works with local activists, human rights groups and the Pentagon.

“We had been flagging for months prior to the offensive that far more civilians were dying around Raqqa than we would have expected even a few months earlier,” said Chris Woods, the director of Airwars.

“Since the assault began, we have seen a casualty count that is relatively high compared to the rest of the coalition’s war against ISIS,” he said using an acronym for the Islamic State. “In Raqqa, this means high numbers of identifiable civilians, many of them women and children.”

Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander in the country, said the Pentagon was aware of the reports.

“I have seen the reports of increased civilian casualties, and it is probably logical to assume that there have been some increases in civilian casualties because our operations have increased in intensity there,” he said at a news conference in Baghdad on Tuesday. “But I would ask someone to show me hard information that says that civilian casualties have increased in Raqqa to some significant degree.”

More than 270,000 people have fled Raqqa since the coalition offensive began. According to U.N. estimates, at least 18,000 more remain trapped in the city among the militants, often without electricity and surviving on limited supplies of food.

The coalition has beefed up its team investigating claims of civilian casualties resulting from its strikes in recent months. But the toll in Raqqa and Deir al-Zour, another militant stronghold in Syria, underscores the deep challenges facing the aerial campaign as militants use civilians as human shields in an attempt to slow the offensive against them.