Airstrike kills at least 15 in eastern Syria
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At least 15 people were killed in an airstrike in eastern Syria on Wednesday, activists said, in the second attack in three days reported to kill civilians in the Islamic State-held Euphrates River valley.
Two Syrian monitoring groups, Deir Ezzor 24 and Justice For Life, said an unidentified jet dropped a cluster bomb on the village of Doblan. Russian, Syrian, and US-led coalition aircraft are all known to operate in the area.
Cluster bombs are designed to spread small bomblets across a wide area, but many fail to explode, endangering civilians long after the fighting has ended.
Omar Abou Layla, the head of Deir Ezzor 24, said 15 bodies, including those of women and children, were recovered in the village. He said residents expect to find many more killed.
Ali Rahbe, of Justice For Life, said local informants counted at least 35 dead in the village, which is between the IS strongholds of al-Mayadeen and Boukamal.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the initial toll at 30 dead.
