Rights group says US-led coalition destroyed Syrian city
An international rights group is accusing the US and its allies of showing little regard for civilians' lives while attacking the Syrian city that was once the self-styled capital of the Islamic State group.
Amnesty International says in a report Tuesday that the US-led coalition's 2017 assault on Raqqa killed hundreds of civilians and destroyed parts of the city. It says the coalition should have known IS militants would use civilians as human shields and adjusted its tactics to protect them.
Coalition spokesman Col. Sean Ryan says the assertions are "absurd and grossly inaccurate." He says the coalition and local Syrian partners organized safe passages for civilians to flee, but IS militants trapped them.
The coalition has acknowledged responsibility for 32 civilian deaths in four months of fighting for Raqqa.
