The US-led coalition killed some 40 people, mainly women and children, in airstrikes in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.
The reports come after Col. Sean Ryan, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, confirmed on Friday that coalition strikes had taken place in the area on Thursday, insisting that no civilian casualties have been recorded.
READ MORE: Syria Accuses US-Led Coalition of Killing Civilians in Deir Ez-Zor — Reports
Prior to the spokesman's statement, SANA reported on Thursday that 17 civilians had been killed in Bu-Badran. However, later in the day, it said the civilian death toll from the US-led coalition airstrikes in Deir ez-Zor province had reached 23. According to the news agency, the strikes targeted the residential areas of the villages of Bu-Badran and al-Sousa.
The US-led coalition of more than 70 countries is conducting military operations against Daesh* in Syria and Iraq. The coalition's operations in Iraq are conducted in cooperation with the Iraqi government, but those in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.
*Daesh is a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
