20 civilians killed in Syria’s Deir ez-Zour

By Mohamad Misto and Adham Kako

ANKARA

At least 20 civilians were killed on Tuesday as a result of ongoing airstrikes in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zour province, according to a local source.

The U.S.-led coalition forces pounded the Daesh-held Heccin area in the eastern outskirts of Deir ez-Zour with ground and airstrikes.

At least 20 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed during the attacks.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.