Syrian government and Russian jets have stepped up the bombardment of a town in northern Syria held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, increasing pressure on the fighters, a monitoring group reported.
The warplanes have carried out at least 18 air strikes since dawn on Sunday on the town of Tabqa, just west of Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently said on Facebook that at least six people died in the bombing. SOHR, which relies on a network of activists inside Syria, said at least one person had died, with many more injured.
The bombing has prompted a mass exodus of locals from the town to safer areas.
Earlier this month, Syrian troops started an offensive aimed at cutting off Raqqa from the Turkish border.
Troops and militiamen, backed by Syrian and Russian warplanes, pushed east from the government outpost of Ithriya, closing in on Tabqa.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by US air strikes, are also pushing towards Tabqa, located near Syria's largest dam, at the southern end of Lake Assad on the Euphrates.
The SDF, an alliance of Kurds and Arabs, are seek to retake the northern Syrian town of Minbij from ISIL as part of their offensive in Raqqa province.
Minbij is strategically important as it controls a supply route from the Turkish border to Raqqa.
Clashes between SDF forces, backed by a US-led air power, and ISIL fighters raged on Sunday on the outskirts of Minbij, the SOHR said. No casualties were reported.
Minbij has been under ISIL control since 2014.
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