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BEIRUT (AP) — Activists say Syrian airstrikes targeting a stronghold of the Islamic State extremist group have killed at least 25 people.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 16 civilians were killed, alongside nine Islamic State fighters.
Video of the aftermath uploaded to social media networks shows eight airstrikes smashed parts of buildings, set cars alight and crushed people under rubble in the northeastern city of Raqqa, which is ruled by the extremist group.
The Observatory says at least one strike hit a bakery on a busy street, and that the death toll is likely to rise. The Observatory obtains its information from a network of activists on the ground.
The Syrian government has increased its airstrikes on Raqqa since fighters of the Islamic State swept into neighboring Iraq, seizing northern and western sections of that country and declaring a proto-state straddling the border.
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