Death toll from US airstrikes in Syria rises to 50: Group

Beirut: The death toll from US strikes on al Qaeda-linked militants in northern Syria has risen to 50, a monitoring group said on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_1669141” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of those killed in the strikes, which targeted fighters from the Nusra Front in the northern Idlib area, had been non-Syrians. The US military said on Tuesday its partners in air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria included Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In a CENTCOM statement, it added the US military had taken action to disrupt “imminent attack” against the US and Western interests by “seasoned al Qaeda veterans” who had established a safe haven in Syria. “These strikes were undertaken only by US assets,” it said. The statement said the US had launched strikes from warships in international waters in the Red Sea and the North Arabian Gulf. It said Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi and the UAE had “also participated in or supported the air strikes against (Islamic State) targets. All aircraft safely exited the strike areas,” it said. Agencies