ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: Smoke billows over the Syrian town of Al-Baghuz. PHOTO: AFP / Delil Souleiman
At least 16 civilians have been killed and 54 others injured in US-led coalition airstrikes on the Syrina village of al-Baghouz, the country’s news agency SANA reported on February 11.
The town, which is located in the Euphrates Valley, is currently in the area of operations by the US-led coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIS.
On Februray 10, the SDF announced the start of the final push to eliminate the ISIS-held pocket in the Euphrates Valley. Since then, the SDF has reported about multiple advances in the area and large casualties among ISIS members. The US-led coalition has reportedly conducted over 100 airstrikes.
However, the ISIS-held pocket has not been eliminated yet. Some sources say that the main reason is that the US-led coalition and the SDF are negotiating with ISIS to reach a kind of the deal.
