Coalition airstrikes kill 27 civilians in western Iraq

By Suleiman al-Qubeisi

ANBAR, Iraq (AA) – At least 27 people were killed and 15 others injured by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in the western Iraqi town of al-Qaim near Syrian border on Tuesday, a local tribal leader has said.

Sheikh Walid al-Karabolli told Anadolu Agency that U.S.-led warplanes carried out four airstrikes on Daesh sites in the town.

One of the strikes targeted a group of Daesh bombers in al-Qaim, leaving ten group members dead, al-Karabolli said.

According to the tribal leader, coalition warplanes also struck several Daesh offices and an explosives-manufacturing site in the town.

“Twenty-seven civilians were killed and 15 others injured when an airstrike hit a residential area in al-Sanjak area,” in al-Qaim, he said.

Local council member Farhan Mohamed earlier told Anadolu Agency that warplanes believed to belong to the U.S.-led coalition struck a number of homes in al-Qaim.

Al-Qaim has fallen to Daesh militants in 2014, which has also seized vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq.

Iraqi government forces, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, have since managed to recapture most of the territory.