CAIRO: At least 53 civilians were killed in an attack in Syria’s central desert province of Homs, state media reported on Friday, blaming the militant Islamic State group.
US Central Command earlier said an IS leader was killed and four US troops were wounded in a US helicopter raid in northeast Syria. It said a raid the previous day targeted and killed a “senior leader” named Hamza al-Homsi who oversaw the group’s network in eastern Syria.
The bodies of all victims taken to the Palmyra state hospital had gunshot wounds to the head, state news agency SANA cited the hospital’s chief as saying.
State media said the victims had been gathering desert truffles when they were attacked. Homs province is controlled by the Syrian government and its allies.
Five people, who were wounded, were transferred to another hospital. One of the survivors told SANA that IS had burned their cars.
Leader of Islamic State group dies, four US troops hurt in raid
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Four US personnel and a dog working with the unit were wounded, but all were in stable condition, US Central Command spokesman Col Joe Buccino said. He said the raid was carried out with the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance led by Kurdish fighters that has waged a years-long campaign against Islamic State in the north.
No SDF fighters or civilians were wounded in the raid, he said.
