79 killed in first five days of US-backed Syrian forces' offensive against Islamic State in Raqqa

Damascus: At least 79 people, including 16 children and nine women, were killed in the first five days of an offensive against the Islamic State terror group in the Syrian city of al-Raqqa, a UK-based war monitor reported on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_1269921” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) warned that the number of victims was increasing due to bombardments by the US-led international coalition, which killed 24 people, including five minors and three women, reports Efe news. The SOHR said those who died on Saturday included 15 people who were inside an internet cafe, and among them was an NGO activist. The ground offensive against al-Raqqa, the main IS stronghold in Syria, began last week, under the command of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The number of civilians remaining inside al-Raqqa, which before the beginning of the conflict in Syria had more than 2,00,000 inhabitants, is not known for certain, according to official statistics.