date of publication 3 october 2017 international coalition planes targeted water wells where a group of civilians were gathered in the north of raqqa city. the syrian observatory for human rights monitor said. tags syria raqqa airstrikes us-led coalition kurds islamic state group a us-led coalition airstrike killed at least 18 civilians on tuesday in the islamic state groups former stronghold of raqqa the syrian observatory for human rights monitor said. "international coalition planes targeted water wells where a group of civilians were gathered in the north of raqqa city killing at least 18 civilians" observatory director rami abdel rahman said. the britain-based group said four children were among the dead. the us-backed syrian democratic forces an alliance of kurdish and arab fighters broke into raqqa in june and has since wrested 90 percent of the city from is. but activists say coalition strikes in support of the operation have killed hundreds of civilians and caused enormous damage. the coalitions spokesman colonel ryan dillon said it does "everything within its power to limit harm to non-combatants and civilian infrastructure." he said "rigorous standards" were applied to coalition targeting and "extraordinary efforts" taken to avoid civilian deaths. "the coalition conducts a detailed assessment of each and every allegation of possible civilian casualties and we will do so for this allegation as well" he added in an email to afp. in late september the coalition acknowledged the deaths of 735 civilians in its strikes on syria and iraq since 2014. but activists say the toll is much higher. read also september deadliest month for syrians in 2017 raqqa has faced water shortages for months because of damage to pipelines caused by suspected coalition strikes. even in the early days of the raqqa assault residents said they feared being caught in airstrikes or shelling when they ventured to wells or the euphrates river that runs south of the city to draw water. the syrian conflict began when the baath regime in power since 1963 and led by president bashar al-assad responded with military force to peaceful protests demanding democratic reforms during the arab spring wave of uprisings triggering an armed rebellion fuelled by mass defections from the syrian army. according to independent monitors hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed in the war mostly by the regime and its powerful allies and millions have been displaced both inside and outside of syria. the brutal tactics pursued mainly by the regime which have included the use of chemical weapons sieges mass executions and torture against civilians have led to war crimes investigations.
us-led strike kills 18 civilians in syrias raqqa