Syrian air strike kills 28 in Islamic State-held town

Monitoring group says 19 civilians killed in helicopter attack

Smoke rises from what activists said were airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad on locations controlled by Islamic State militants in Hasaka city, Syria earlier this week. Photograph: Rodi Said/Reuters
Smoke rises from what activists said were airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad on locations controlled by Islamic State militants in Hasaka city, Syria earlier this week. Photograph: Rodi Said/Reuters

A Syrian army air strike on an Islamic State-controlled town in northern Syria has killed at least 28 people including three children, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organisation that monitors the war via a network of activists on the ground, said 19 civilians were among the dead in Saturday's helicopter attack on al-Bab, 30km northeast of Aleppo.

A US-led coalition is waging a separate campaign of air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, but rejects the idea of partnering with President Bashar al-Assad, who it sees as part of the problem.

Reuters