63 Killed in Airstrike on Islamic State's 'Capital' in Syria

On Tuesday, December 4, the Syrian Air Force bombed positions of the Islamic State group in Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the group in eastern Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 63 people were killed in the Syrian army's airstrikes, at least 36 of whom were civilians. AFP reported that this was the first airstrike by the Syrian army on Raqqa since the city was captured by the Islamic State group last year. Rami Abdulrahman, from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP, 'Dozens more have been injured, and many of them are in critical condition.' He expressed concern over the possibility of an increase in the death toll, adding, 'Most of the injured were wounded in two consecutive airstrikes in Raqqa's main industrial area. After the first bombing, people came to rescue the wounded, and then the second airstrike occurred.' According to AFP, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain, obtains its information through a network of sources located in various parts of Syria. In amateur video footage taken by activists in Raqqa, several bloodied bodies can be seen in the street near the bombing site, and an ambulance approaches the area. In these images, Red Crescent rescue workers in red uniforms are also visible. Meanwhile, activists in Raqqa condemned these attacks, describing them as a 'massacre.' The Islamic State group declared its existence last spring during the Syrian civil war. The group's forces captured Raqqa and named it the capital of the Islamic State. Raqqa was the only provincial capital in Syria that has been outside the control of the central government since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. According to AFP, after the Islamic State group captured Raqqa, most civil society activists in the city and opponents of Bashar al-Assad's government were either killed or captured by the group. Many were forced to leave Raqqa and flee to other areas in Syria or Turkey. The news agency added that for many months, Syrian army forces rarely attacked Raqqa, apparently conserving their strength for attacks on other opposition-controlled areas. However, since late summer, the Syrian government has intensified airstrikes on positions of the Islamic State group in northern and eastern Syria. In this context, in an airstrike on September 6, 53 people were killed in Raqqa, of which 31 were reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights to be civilians. The U.S.-led international coalition has also bombed positions of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, including Raqqa. Syrian activists say that residents of Raqqa fear the Syrian government's airstrikes more than those of the coalition forces because most civilian casualties have been from their attacks. Raqqa, which had a population of about 200,000 before the civil war in Syria, is strategically located next to the Euphrates River and near the Turkish border. According to AFP, the current population of Raqqa is between 300,000 and 350,000, with the increase attributed to residents from other areas of Syria seeking refuge in the city.