Russian Envoy to UN Calls for Probe into Coalition Airstrikes East of Euphrates

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Indiscriminate airstrikes by the US-led coalition against the Daesh terrorist group to the east of the Euphrates River should be thoroughly probed, Russian Deputy UN Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov said in a Security Council meeting.

"Closer attention should be focused on reports from the Syrian side about indiscriminate coalition airstrikes in the east of Euphrates which claimed dozens of lives," Safronkov said on Monday. "These need to be investigated."

On Saturday, the SANA news agency reported that the coalition’s airstrikes hit the al-Buqa village near the town of Hajin in the province of Deir ez-Zor leaving 40 civilians dead. Coalition’s spokesman Col. Sean Ryan told Sputnik that the coalition had conducted strikes in the area, which, however, did not result in any civilian casualties.

The US-led coalition also said in a statement on Saturday it had detected 10 non-coalition strikes in Deir ez-Zor. Pentagon spokesperson Robert Manning said during a press briefing on Monday that ten unidentified strikes in eastern Syria over the weekend are suspected to come from Syrian and Iran-backed forces.

READ MORE: US-Led Coalition Airstrike in Syria's Deir Ez-Zor Kills 40 People — Reports

On Thursday, the Syrian news agency SANA reported that 23 civilians were killed in coalition airstrikes in Deir ez-Zor. According to the news agency, the strikes targeted the residential areas of the villages of Bu-Badran and al-Sousa.

The coalition regularly carries out airstrikes in the Syrian eastern province. On November 9, media reported that 26 civilians, including women and children, were killed in an airstrike by the coalition on the city of Hajin.