Strike kills dozens in Syrian prison

BEIRUT —Syrian activists say a coalition airstrike Monday on an Islamic State prison in eastern Syria killed dozens of prisoners.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britaingroup, said the airstrike killed 42 prisoners and 15 militants near Mayadeen in Deir el-Zour province.

The Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet, run by opposition activists, reported that60people had been killed. The prison housed those caught fighting the Islamic State, also knownas ISIS.

Mayadeen is a city about 30 miles southeast of Deir el-Zour, an Islamic State stronghold frequently targeted in recent days by coalition aircraft as militant leaders fled there from Raqqa, the group’s de facto capital, andMosul, Iraq.

Recent reports by local monitors in eastern Syria tell of other civilians killed by airstrikes.

A spokesman for the coalition acknowledged it had conducted strikes “on known ISIS command and control facilities and other ISIS infrastructure” in Mayadeen on Sunday and Monday. He said the group was investigating potential civilian casualties.

“The removal of these facilities disrupts ISIS’ ability to facilitateandprovoke terrorist attacks against the coalition, our partner forces and in our homelands,” the spokesman said in a statement Tuesday. “This mission was meticulously planned and executed to reduce the risk of collateral damage and potential harm to noncombatants.”

The statement noted the coalition makes efforts to avoid civilian casualties.

The coalition’s civilian casualty assessment team will investigate the allegations, andits findings will be made public in monthly civilian casualty reports, the statement said.

The changes came after the coalition faced criticism for a strike March 17 that killed scores of civilians in westMosul.