60 killed in Syria airstrikes on ISIL positions in Raqqa

Airstrikes conducted by the Syrian air force on ISIL positions have left more than 60 people dead.

According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the airstrikes targeted an industrial neighborhood in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa along the Euphrates River on Tuesday.

“Among the 63 killed were at least 36 civilians,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the UK-based observatory, adding, “There were also 20 unidentified victims… as well as the disfigured remains of at least seven other people.”

The city of Raqqa, the stronghold and self-declared capital of ISIL in Syria, was seized in 2013.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence fuelled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, according to reports.

The ISIL militants have seized large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, terrorizing and killing people of all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians, in the areas they are controlling.