29 civilians killed in int'l coalition's raids on Raqqa

LONDON - 9 Aug 2017: Twenty-nine civilians were killed, including 14 children of the same family, in air raids carried out by the US-led international coalition over the Syrian city of Raqqa, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Wednesday.

The death toll is likely to increase with many critical cases being reported among the wounded, the observatory said.

Captured by Daesh in 2014, Raqqa became a symbol of atrocities by its fighters in its self-declared "caliphate."

The US-backed alliance of Syrian groups began a campaign to capture the city last year, slowly encircling the city before breaking into it for the first time in June. They have since advanced and taken over around 45 percent of the city.

Daesh has responded with a barrage of car bombs, suicide bombers, weaponized drones and snipers.