US-led coalition airstrikes kill 32 ISIS fighters in Syria’s Raqqa

At least 32 Islamic State (ISIS) fighters were killed and 40 more were injured when a series of aistrikes carried out by the US-led coalition hit Syria’s Raqqa province on Sunday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

According to the monitoring group, more than 15 explosions hit IS positions in the countryside of Raqqa province and near its capital, Raqqa city, the Islamic State’s Syrian stronghold.

The aerial bombings also hit other areas of northern and eastern Syria, Reuters reported.

The observatory also disclosed that at least 45 air strikes, probably carried out by Russia, hit the city of Palmyra in central Syria, which is also under IS control. Injuries were reported, but no details on the casualty toll were available.

The United States and its allies have been bombing ISIS in Iraq and Syria in an effort to drive the group from swathes of territory it controls in both countries, said Reuters.

This week, the British government joined the military campaign after lawmakers approved bombing Islamic State targets in Syria. Hours after the vote, British bombers struck oilfields the government says are being used to fund attacks on the West. They made a second round of strikes on Friday.

Since September, Moscow has also been waging a separate air campaign in Syria in support of its ally President Bashar al-Assad. Russia has said its air campaign targets ISIS, but the West says most raids have hit other foreign-backed rebel groups.

Following the Paris attacks on Nov. 13, other members of the coalition have ramped up efforts in the fight against ISIS. Germany’s parliament earlier approved to provide military support to the campaign. The Netherlands is also set to decide on joining the air campaign.