Russian air strikes kill 21 civilians in east Syria: Monitor

BEIRUT: Russian air strikes killed 21 civilians early Wednesday in a village held by the Islamic State group near the Euphrates River in eastern Syria, a monitor said. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombing raids hit the village of Al-Jerzi on the eastern bank of the river, which cuts across Deir Ezzor province. 

"Twenty-one civilians were killed, including nine children, very early Wednesday in Russian air strikes targeting residential buildings in Al-Jerzi," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman



told AFP.

The Britain-based monitor relies on a network of sources inside Syria and says it determines whose planes carry out raids according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions used. 

It says IS, which used to control swathes of Deir Ezzor province, has been ousted from all but eight percent of the oil-rich region.

The jihadists have lost vast swathes of it to separate offensives by Russian-backed Syrian troops and an alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces.