MOSCOW, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - The number of people killed in Syria since the start of airstrikes by the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) has reached 553, UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Thursday.
"Rose to 553 the number of people who were killed since the US led coalition air strikes started in Syria [on] the 23rd of September until last night October 22," the organization said in a statement posted on its website.
Those killed during airstrikes included 32 civilians, among them six children and five women, near oil fields in al-Hasaka, Alepo, Idlib and Der-Ezzror.
Of the 553 people killed, 464 were IS militants. The organization noted that the actual number of killed IS fighters could be higher, explaining that it is difficult to gain access to IS data on causalities and to combat areas.
The IS is a Sunni jihadi group that has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. It launched attacks in Iraq in June and announced the establishment of an Islamic caliphate on the territories under its control.
The US government conducted air strikes against IS fighters in Iraq back in August. In September, the United States extended the air strikes to Syria and announced the creation of an international coalition to combat the terrorists.
