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Syria: Nearly 1,000 Civilians Reportedly Killed During U.S.-Led Offensive in Raqqa

HeadlineAug 14, 2017

In Syria, the local journalistic group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently says nearly 1,000 civilians have been killed amid the ongoing U.S.-led offensive to seize control of the city of Raqqa from ISIS. Over the last two months, U.S. Marines, U.S.-led airstrikes and U.S.-backed Syrian troops have carried out the offensive, which has displaced hundreds of thousands of residents from their homes and destroyed parts of the city.

Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently reports at least two doctors were killed over the weekend in Raqqa: Fouad Bashir Ojaili, reportedly killed by a U.S. airstrike, and Ibrahim Khalil Al Shawakh, reportedly killed as he attempted to flee the city by a landmine planted by ISIS.

Meanwhile, in Syria’s Idlib province, seven volunteers with the Syrian Civil Defense rescue group, better known as the White Helmets, were shot to death by unidentified attackers who stormed the White Helmets’ offices on Saturday. Another seven media activists with the Aleppo Media Center were also killed in the attack, which occurred in the rebel-held city of Sarmin.

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