Turkish airstrike kills 7 civilians in northern Syria

At least seven civilians were killed Monday by a Turkish airstrike on a town in northern Syria, state news agency SANA reported.

The Turkish airstrike targeted the town of Sheikh Naser in the city of al-Bab, which is held by the Islamic State (IS) group in the northern countryside of Aleppo province, near Turkey.

The Turkish air force has been backing the rebels' Free Syrian Army (FSA) in their push to take al-Baab from IS. Turkish officials recently said that the Ankara-backed FSA are closing in on al-Baab, adding that the city will soon fail.

The Syrian government has for long accused Turkey of supporting the rebels in northern Syria.

Ankara is now supporting the FSA to take areas from IS and to cut the road before the advance of the Kurdish-backed militant groups in northern Syria, near the Turkish borders.

Earlier in the day, SANA said at least 10 civilians were killed by a U.S.-led airstrike on the country's northern province of al-Raqqah, the de facto capital of IS.

The airstrike targeted a cotton mill in the village of Salhiyeh in the northern countryside of al-Raqqah, killing three workers and a displaced family of six as well as another person from the village.

Last month, SANA said the U.S. coalition carried out two "massacres" in the countryside of the northern province of Aleppo, killing tens of people.

In July, the coalition airstrikes on the countryside of Aleppo had killed 165 civilians and wounded tens of others, SANA added.

The U.S. coalition has been striking the IS positions in al-Raqqah, the main bastion of the group, and other IS-held areas in Aleppo since late 2014.

The U.S. administration had previously admitted the falling of civilian victims in the course of striking IS-held territory in Syria. Endit