US-led coalition strikes mosque, kills 7 in east Syria

By Umar Farooq

DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria

U.S.-led coalition warplanes struck a mosque in Syria's Deir -Zor province, killing at least seven people, according to local sources.

"At least seven civilians were killed by the bombing," one source told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

On Wednesday evening, coalition warplanes targeted the Al-Zawiyya Mosque in Deir -Zor’s Daesh-held Hajin district.

According to local sources, the mosque was severely damaged by the bombardment.

Last week, at least 30 civilians were killed, including two children, when a coalition airstrike destroyed the Ammar bin Yasser Mosque in the town of Al-Sousa on Deir -Zor’s outskirts.

Another 16 were killed in a similar attack on the Uthman ibn Affan Mosque -- in the same town -- last Friday.

Along with the Hajin district, Daesh remains in control of Deir -Zor’s towns of Al- and Al-Sousa, in addition to the villages of Muhsin and Bukhater.

On Sept. 11, the PKK/YPG terrorist group, with and French support, launched an offensive aimed at capturing Deir -Zor from Daesh.